 | Term | Definition |
| |
abrasion |
the rubbign or grinding of stone or another material to produce a smooth surface |
| |
acropolis |
Greek, "high city"; usually the site of the city's most important temple(s) |
| |
aisle |
the portion of a basilica flanking the nave and separated from it by a row of columns or piers |
| |
altarpiece |
a panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar |
| |
alternate-support system |
in church architecture, the use of alternating wall supports in teh nave, usually piers and columns or compound piers of alternating form |
| |
ambulatory |
a covered walkway, outdoors or indoors, especially the passageway around the apse and the choir of a church |
| |
amphiprostyle |
style of Greek building in which the colonnade was placed across both the front and back, but not along the sides |
| |
amphitheater |
Greek, "double theater"; a Roman building type resembling two Greek theaters put together; featured a continuous elliptical cavea around a central arena |
| |
amphora |
a two-handled jar used for general storage purposes, usually to hold wine or oil |
| |
anamorphic image |
a distorted image that must be viewed by some special means, such as with a mirror or at an angle, to be recognized |
| |
apadana |
the great audience hall in ancient Persian palaces |
| |
apse |
a recess, usually semi-circular, in the wall of a Roman basilica or at the east end of a church |
| |
apsidal |
rounded; apse shaped |
| |
arcade |
a series of arches supported by piers or columns |
| |
arch |
a curved structural member that spans an opening |
| |
Archaic smile |
in Archaic Greek sculpture, the smile indicated that the person portrayed is alive |
| |
architrave |
the lintel or lowest division of the entablature; also called the epistyle |
| |
archivot |
the continuous molding framing an arch; in Romanesque or Gothic architecture, one of the series of concentric bands framing the tympanum |
| |
arcuated |
arch shaped |
| |
arena |
in a Roman amphitheater, the central area where bloody gladiatorial combats and other boisterous events took place |
| |
armature |
the crossed, or diagonal, arches that form the skeletal framework of a Gothic rib vault; in sculpture, the framework for a clay form |
| |
ashlar masonry |
carefully cut and regularly shaped blocks of stone used in construction, fitted together without mortar |
| |
assemblage |
an artwork constructed from already existing objects |
| |
baldacchino |
a canopy on columns, frequently built over an altar |
| |
baptistery |
in Christian architecture, the building used for baptism, usually situated next to a church |
| |
basilica |
in Roman architecture, a civic building, rectangular in plan with an entrance usually on a long side; in Christian architecture, a church resembling a Roman basilica, usually entered from one end and with an apse at the other |
| |
bay |
the area between the columns or piers in the nave or aisles of a church |
