vesica
Americannoun
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anatomy a technical name for bladder
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(in medieval sculpture and painting) an aureole in the shape of a pointed oval
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of vesica
First recorded in 1675–85, vesica is from the Latin word vēsīca
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
V., and the pointed oval, or vesica piscis, which is traced by them, may be called the Limit of ornamentation.
From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by Ruskin, John
Within the vesica piscis, artists usually represent the virgin herself, with or without the child; in the figure before us the child takes her place.
From Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism With an Essay on Baal Worship, On The Assyrian Sacred "Grove," And Other by Inman, Thomas
It is thought by some that the Gothic or pointed arch is derived from this symbol, being simply the upper half of a vesica.
From The Worship of the Church and The Beauty of Holiness by Regester, J. A. (Jacob Asbury)
Ves′ical, of or pertaining to a vesica; Ves′icant, blistering.—n. a substance that vesicates or raises blisters.—v.t.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Thus the following solution that I give to our puzzle involves the pointed "oval," known among architects as the "vesica piscis."
From Amusements in Mathematics by Dudeney, Henry Ernest
L. E. D.—The leaves have a bitterish astringent taste, and are recommended in powder, to the extent of at least two drams a-day, in ulcerations of the urinary passages and catarrhus vesicae.
From The Botanist's Companion, Volume II by Salisbury, William
There was ectopia vesicae and prolapse of the intestine at the umbilicus; the right kidney was elongated; the right vas deferens opened into the ureter.
From Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine by Pyle, Walter L. (Walter Lytle)
The space between the large arch and the window head is taken up by a large circle completely filled with minute spiral tracery and two vesicae also filled in with smaller vesicae and circles.
From Portuguese Architecture by Watson, Walter Crum
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
