Apse

/æps/ · noun

Meaning

(architecture) The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar..

Definitions by Sense

1. (architecture) The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar.
2. A semicircular projection from any building that is similar to a church's apse.
3. The bishop's seat or throne in ancient churches.
4. A reliquary: a case in which the relics of saints are kept.
5. (astronomy) Obsolete form of apsis (“the nearest and furthest points to the centre of gravitational attraction for a body in orbit”).
6. (obsolete or dialectal) An aspen tree.

Example Sentences

Holonyms: church, cathedral

Meronyms: ambulatory, apse chapels

Near-synonyms: chancel, presbytery, sanctuary (all broadly synonymous)

Our private tour of the cathedral even allowed us to walk through the apse, which most tours don't.

The draughtsman could not have held the sheet with the apse at the tip, for then, instead of shading away from the edge, most of his hatched lines would begin in the uncharted middle ground of a shadeable area, to strike against the contour; […]

The college has an apse that once held a small chapel.

Synonyms for apse

Antonyms for apse

Related Words

Word Forms

• apses
• apsides

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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