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/æps/

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English Noun
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Definition

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

Etymology

From Latin apsis, hapsis, from Ancient Greek ἁψίς (hapsís, “arch, vault”), from ἅπτω (háptō, “I bind, join”).

Example Sentences

  • "Holonyms: church, cathedral"
  • "Meronyms: ambulatory, apse chapels"
  • "Near-synonyms: chancel, presbytery, sanctuary (all broadly synonymous)"
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