apse
noun
Simple meaning
A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building usually the east end of a church.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
apsIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈæps
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
architecture
A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar
A reliquary, or case in which the relics of saints were kept.
architecture
A semicircular projection from a building, especially the rounded east end of a church that contains the altar.
The bishop's seat or throne in ancient churches.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar
Used this way, apse is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Religion/spirituality
- Historical writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.