About The Glossary

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P

A Buddhist temple in the form of a tower, usually polygonal, with elaborately ornamented roofs projecting from each of its many stories.{insert KK here}


 

(Punjabi: “turban”) In Sikhism: the traditional headcovering for initiated males.


 

A fan-shaped ornament composed of narrow divisions like a palm leaf.


 

(Greek: “all-holy”) In Eastern Christianity:

1. Mary as the Mother of God.

2. A breastplate icon worn by a bishop of the Orthodox Church on feast-days.

 
 

(Punjabi) In Sikhism: The “five k’s” worn by initiated men and women. (see khalsa)


 

1. The part of a wall above the gutter, which is sometimes decorated with battlements or other designs.

2. A low wall placed to protect any spot where there is a sudden drop, for example at the edge of a bridge, quay or house-top.


 

In Christian church architecture: A screen enclosing a chapel or shrine and separating it from the main body of the church so as to exclude non-worshippers.


 

In Eastern church architecture: A chapel, either free-standing or attached.


 

In Western church architecture: The term for the open space in front of and around cathedrals or churches, or a room over a church porch.


 

In Eastern church architecture: A room serving as a diaconikon; as a rule, flanking the apse of the church.


 

A small, flat, circular or oval ornament in Classical-style architecture, often decorated with acanthus leaves or rose petals.


 

Representing the initiation, journey, and time of transformation, the path symbolizes psychological, not physical, triumph. Along the way, obscure resistances are overcome and long-lost powers are revived. The three basic shapes of paths are linear (leading step by step to the resolution of a conflict), radial (traveling inward to a centered spot or outward to enrich the world) and spiral (a stream of consciousness that expands to new dimensions while referring to the source of its existence). The path points the way to the goal, to the luminous shore of truth, consciousness, and bliss. (adapted from The Temple in the House)


 

1. In Classical-style architecture, the base supporting a column or colonnade.

2. Loosely, the base for a statue or any superstructure.


 

In Classical-style architecture, a triangular section of wall above the entablature and below the gabled roof, that can be, instead, semicircular in shape.


 

1. Carved  triangular surface formed to support a circular dome over a square structure.

2. More specifically, a concave spandrel leading from the angle of two walls to the base of a circular dome.

3. It is one of the means by which a circular dome is supported over a square or polygonal compartment.

 
 

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. (see Bible)


 

(Greek) A temple with a single range of columns around it.


 

1. A continuous range of columns surrounding the main body of a building.

2. The colonnade around the inside of a court or room; the term is rarely used for an external colonnade.


 

In Western church architecture: A fixed wooden seat in a church, usually a wooden bench with back and sides. A boxed pew is one with a high wooden enclosure all around and a small door typical of Georgian style.


 

In Native American Church: A hallucinogenic drug derived from the cactus plant that, when chewed, induces supernatural visions and is said to put individuals in direct communication with God and the spiritual realm.


 

1. The solid masonry support (pillar or column) that supports an arch or bridge.

2. The structural support in a building, usually of solid masonry, but larger and less decorative than a column.

3. Any solid mass of masonry between openings.

4. A squat medieval and Romanesque forms of columns, often changing in section from square to circular or polygonal. A compound pier (or clustered pier) is a pier comprising a number of shafts, common in Gothic architecture


 

1.  A shallow pier or rectangular column projecting only slightly from a wall.

2. An adaptation of any Classical Order, rectangular in section and applied to or emerging from a wall, usually by one sixth of its breadth.


 

A free-standing upright member, which, unlike a column, need not by cylindrical or conform with any of the architectural orders.


 

Shaft of wood or concrete, which is driven into the ground as part of the foundations of the building.


 

Posts or "stilts" raising a building off the ground, thereby leaving the ground floor open.


 

A small turret-like termination crowning spires, buttresses, the angles of parapets, etc., usually of steep pyramidal or conical shape and ornamented.


 

In Western church architecture: A stone vessel or basin containing water, usually set in or against a wall to the south of the altar for cleaning communion utensils; usually provided with a drain.


 

The projecting base of a wall; or, the lowest part of a column base.


 

An arch produced by two curves, each with a radius equal to the span and meeting in a point at the top.


 

A convex roof on a polygonal base whose sides meet at the top of the dome.


 

The covered entrance to a building; called a portico if columned and pedimented like a temple front.


 

1. Any door or gate, often elaborately decorated.

2. A small door set within a larger door or gate.


 

1. Entrance porch; usually colonnaded with a roof supported on one side by decorative columns.

2. A roofed space, open or partly enclosed, forming the entrance and centerpiece of the facade of a temple, house or church, often with detached or attached columns and a pediment.


 

In Christian architecture: A small gateway, sometimes concealed, at the back of a monastery.


 

(Punjabi) In Sikhism: book containing hymns of the gurus.


 

In Christian church architecture:

  1. The part of the church which lies east of the choir and where the high altar is placed.

2.  Generally, the area to the east of the crossing of a church, reserved for the clergy, and containing the main altar and sanctuary.


 

1. In Christian church architecture: An often ornate seat for the primary clergy person, sometimes with a canopy or other throne-like detailing.

2. In Anglican and American Episcopal churches, a seat reserved only for the bishop that remains unoccupied in his/her absence.


 

In Christian church architecture: A raised, separate area of wood or stone, often elaborately carved and sometimes with an acoustic canopy above called a sounding board or tester, where clergy speak from. The person who is giving the sermon stands in the pulpit, sometimes elevated above the congregation as much as 15 feet (in Colonial churches) when height was necessary so clergy could be seen/heard in the back of the church.


 

In Christian church architecture: Stone screen in a major church to shut off the choir from the nave. It could also be used as a backing for the return choir stalls.


 

In Western Christianity, especially Roman Catholicism: A small box used for carrying the Host, i.e. bread or wafers consecrated during a Mass, to the sick. Unlike a monstrance, a pyx is not intended for displaying the Host, simply for transporting it. (see communion)


 

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Q

(Arabic) In Islam: The direction in which the Muslim faces for prayer; that is, towards Mecca.


 

Four-sided enclosure or courtyard surrounded by buildings on all sides.


 

The dressed stones at the corners of buildings, usually laid so that their faces are alternately large and small; often the largest stones in a wall.


 

(Arabic) In Islam: The sacred book, the uncreated word of God, hence pre-existent to the world and to man, whose archetype is laid up in heaven. The scripture is the corpus of revelations granted by Allah to His Messenger Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel, but the message is God's alone without any human interference.

  (Researcher note: Qur'an is preferred to the alternate transliteration, Koran.)


 

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R

(Punjabi) In Sikhism: a manual of conduct.


 

In Hinduism: The epic story of Rama, the prince of Ayodhya, and his devout and noble wife, Sita; it is a Sanskrit composition in 24,000 stanzas attributed to the ancient Indian sage and poet Valmiki.


 

A continuous rectangular notch or groove cut on an edge, so that a plank, door, etc., may be fitted into it.


 

An arch of rough construction placed in a wall, above an arch or any opening, to relieve it of much of the superincumbent weight.


 

The period during which the classical style of architecture was reintroduced in Europe, the 15^th and 16^th centuries in most places.


 

In Christian church architecture: A wall or screen, usually of carved wood or stone, set behind an altar.


 

In Christian church architecture: A shelf or ledge above the back of an altar; also an altar-piece, either painted or carved, and attached to the back of an altar.


 

That part of a jamb which lies between the glass or door and the outer wall surface.


 

1. The stone arch that supports and strengthens the vault.

2. A projecting molded band applied to a ceiling, most commonly used to emphasize and to decorate the structure of vaults.


 

A groin vault reinforced by ribs, one in which the intersections of the surfaces are marked by projecting bands of stone that form arches.


 

1. The architectural style that developed between the end of the Roman Empire and around 1000 CE is characterized by round arches, simple vaults, and, sometimes, Corinthian capitals; churches were often build to the Romans' basilica design with the addition of facades with rows of arches and frontages with twin towers. (This style preceded Gothic.)

2. In Midwestern vernacular church architecture, look for square floor plan, round arch and vault, and windows with round tops.


 

(Old Saxon: “cross”, “crucifix”) In early Christian churches, a rood was set up at the east end of the nave, flanked by figures of the Virgin and St. John. It was usually wooden and fixed to a special beam in the chancel arch above the rood loft. Sometimes the rood was painted on the wall above the chancel arch.


 

In Christian church architecture: A gallery built above the rood screen, often to carry the rood or other images and candles; approached by stairs either of wood or built in the wall.


 

In Chrsitian church architecture: A screen below the rood, set across the east end of the nave and shutting off the chancel.


 

A string of beads with an established number of members used for counting prayers.

  1. A Roman Catholic rosary usually has 55 or, less commonly, 165 beads, and may be used for counting the number of times the Ave Maria is to be said while meditating on events in the life of Christ.

2. Buddhist rosaries vary considerably but may also be used for counting simple devotional phrases; when 108 beads are counted they refer to the 108 human passions referred to in Buddhist teaching.


 

1. Curved stone mullions reminiscent of petals divide a circular window permitting elaborate decorative tracery and stained glass work.

2. In Western Christianity: This large, round, stained glass window usually is placed in the western facade of a Gothic style church or cathedral.


 

A circular building or round room, often domed and surrounded by a colonnade.


 

(Punjabi) In Sikhism: The elegant, decorated cloth wrapped around the Guru Granth Sahib when it is closed.


 

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S

In Christian church architecture:

1. A room near the altar area in which liturgical vessels and vestments are kept and prepared.

2. An area where clergy wait or prepare for the worship service. The sacristy is an area outside the public area of the chancel, usually including countertops and running water for preparation of communion items before the service begins. The sacristy may also function as a vestry (place where vestments are donned by clergy), but sometimes there is an additional vestry, especially for servers and choir members.  (= diaconikon in Greek Orthodox churches)


 

1. Any holy or sacred space

2. Any specific location where God is present, especially the area around the main altar of a church.

3. From Byzantine architecture onwards, the area, usually at the east end of the church, containing the main altar.


 

The sanctuary balances and integrates the upward energy of a steeple or sky door (opening in ceiling).

  The portal signals the transition from the chaos of the outer world to the peace of the inner one; it marks the first step in the healing of the psyche. The central aisle passing through the middle of the sanctuary marks the passage to enlightenment, the process of healing. To the sides of the central aisle are places to sit in subdued light. Mind and body can become absorbed in silence and wholeness, pausing in the stillness before taking the next steps of the journey toward the altar. The altar signals the place of arrival and rebirth.  (adapted from The Temple in the Home)


 

A window formed with sashes, i.e., sliding glazed frames running in vertical grooves.


 

A convex roof, which has a circular base and a segmental (less than a semicircle) section.


 

An ornament carved or molded in the form of a shell.


 

A partition or enclosure of iron, stone, or wood, often carved. (See, for example, iconostasis, rood screen.)


 

An ornament in the form of a scroll of paper partly rolled, or a molding in such a form.


 

Part of a circle smaller than a semicircle.


 

An arch that is a segment of a circle drawn from a center below the springing line.


 

In Eastern Christianity: A long bar of wood struck with a mallet in Greek Orthodox churches to summon worshippers.


 

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, begin at Alexandria in the 3^rd Century BCE for the Benefit of the Greek-speaking Jewish community in that area. Since the 1^st Century CE the Septuagint has been the standard version of the Hebrew Bible for Greek-speaking Christians. (see Bible, Hebrew Bible)


 

1. The trunk of a column between the base and capital.

2. The vertical, often fluted, portion of a column.

3. The body of a column or Order between the base and the capital, often fluted.

4. In medieval architecture, one of the narrow vertical parts which together form a pier or pillar, or window and door surrounds.


 

(Hebrew, or Yiddish) The ninth candle which is used to light the other candles on a Hanukkah menorah. (see candelabra)


 

One of the Five Classics included in the Confucian Canon, it is a collection of 300 poems and songs dating mainly from the early Chou dynasty (1027-402 BCE).


 

(Japanese) A sacred rope marking the presence of a Shinto god or the border of a sacred area. Zigzag strips of paper, called shide, are hung from the rope, which is made of twisted new straw.


 

Wooden tiles for covering roofs and spires.


 

(Hebrew) In Judaism: A ram's horn, or of any ritually pure animal except the cow, blown as a trumpet on the High Holidays and other important occasions, especially the New Year and at the conclusion of Yom Kippur.


 

An arch with a lintel connected with the jambs of a doorway by corbels. The corbels start with a concave quadrant and continue vertically to meet the lintel.


 

Any sacred building or place; a structure containing a sacred object.


 

One of the Five Classics included in the Confucian Canon, it is a collection of documents, speeches, and counsels made by Chinese rulers and ministers purporting to date from the legendary rulers Yao and Shun to the early Chou dynasty (1000 BCE). Many of the supposedly older documents actually date from the Later Han dynasty (23-220 CE).


 

(Hebrew) Literally, the "order" of Hebrew prayers, the Siddur is the book with daily prayers for morning, afternoon and evening services, as well as additional prayers for sabbaths and Holy Days


 

The lower horizontal part of a window frame.


 

Indian musical instrument; a fretted string instrument with a gourd-like body and a long neck, similar to a lute.


 

In Christian church architecture: A covered way or passage, especially in a cathedral or monastic church, leading east from the cloisters between transept and chapterhouse.


 

The underside of any architectural element.


 

In Christian church architecture: A raised pathway projecting from the bema to the ambo, especially in Early Christian and Byzantine-style churches.


 

(Japanese) Long wooded memorial tablets in Buddhist cemeteries, notched in five sections at the top and bearing appropriate inscriptions.


 

1. The triangular space between the side of an arch, the horizontal drawn from the level of its apex, and the vertical of its springing.

2. Also used to describe the surface between two arches in an arcade, and the surface of a vault between adjacent ribs.


 

A tall pyramidal, polygonal, or conical structure rising from a tower, turret or roof (usually, of a church) and terminating in a point.  Two common types are broach (octagonal rising directly from a tower) and needle (thin spire rising from the center of tower roof).


 

The level at which an arch springs from its supports.


 

An arch or system of concentrically wider and gradually projecting arches, placed diagonally at the internal angles of towers to fit a polygonal or round superstructure onto a square plan. (see also arch)


 

In Chrsitian church architecture: An obliquely cut opening in a wall or through a pier to allow a view of the main altar of a church from places whence it could not otherwise be seen. (= hagioscope)


 

In Islamic architecture: Ceiling ornament formed by corbelled squinches made of several layers of brick scalloped out to resemble natural stalactites.


 

A carved seat of wood or stone in a row of similar seats; if hinged, often carved on the underside. (See misericord)


 

In Christian church architecture (esp. Roman Catholic): A series of 14 carvings or paintings which show the sequence of incidents at the end of Christ's life, before which prayers are said, especially during Lent and in particular on Good Friday.


 

In Christian church architecture: The tower and spire of a church taken together.


 

A stone slab, usually inscribed, and used as a gravestone or, with a historical or religious inscription, placed in a temple.


 

An arch with its springing line raised by vertical piers above the impost level.


 

In Christian church architecture (esp. Roman Catholic): A vessel to contain holy water, placed near the entrance of a church; usually in the form of a shallow dish set against a wall or pier or in a niche.


 

An arch inserted across a nave or an aisle to prevent the walls from leaning.


 

A continuous projecting horizontal band set in the surface of an exterior wall and usually molded.


 

In architecture: The “bones” of a building, its skeleton, its framework


 

(Sanskrit: "cairn", "monument") In Buddhism: A dome-shaped or bell-shaped mound, a stylized tumulus, commemorating the death of a Buddha or other enlightened person and usually containing relics. The dome of the stupa symbolizes the universe; the four gates at the four corners of a surrounding wall symbolize the winds. In a typical Buddhist stupa, five geometric forms are stacked to represent the universe: the square at the base symbolizes the earth; the circle equals water; the triangle, fire; the crescent, air, and the diamond represents the ethereal qualities of space.


 

Continuous base supporting a row or rows of columns.


 

(Greek: "a place of meeting")

1. In Judaism: The main public institution.

2. In contemporary usage: A Jewish congregation or the place where it gathers or assembles for worship.


 

In Christian church architecture: The bench or benches reserved for the clergy in the semicircle of the apse or in rows on either side of the bema, especially in Early Christian and Byzantine-style churches.


 

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T

One of the Four Books included in the Confucian Canon.


 

1. In Christianity (esp. Roman Catholicism): A special receptacle, often richly decorated and of special material, for conserving the bread or wafers consecrated during a Mass. It is often placed on or near the main altar of a church, but large churches may have special chapels for this "reserved sacrament. (see communion)

2. In popular usage: An elaborate and/or large building used for religious purposes.

3. An ornamented recess or receptacle to contain the Holy Sacrament or relics.

4. A free-standing canopy.


 

(Hebrew, or Yiddish) In Judaism: a ritual prayer shawl, with braided fringes attached to each of its four corners.


 

(Hebrew) An extensive commentary on the first collection of Jewish Law known as Mishnah. There are two editions, the Babylonian and the Jerusalem.


 

(Japanese) A fence or wall surrounding shrine buildings or defining the boundaries of shrine precincts. The tamagaki may be made of wood or stone and is sometimes found in multiple layers.


 

(Japanese) A small branch of green leaves presented to a Shinto deity.


 

(Chinese: Book of Truth and Virtue) Scriptures written/compiled by Lao-Tzu.


 

A pack of 78 cards used originally for games, now increasingly for divination, especially among Wiccans.


 

In Jewish architecture: A dais or rostrum for the reader in a synagogue. Adjoining it to the east is the Chief Rabbi's seat.


 

(Hebrew: "phylacteries") In Judaism: The two black leather boxes worn on the left arm and head by adult male Jews during weekday morning services These are not so much phylacteries or amulets as a literal application of a biblical commandment. The black leather box-shaped instruments contain excerpts from Scripture: Exodus 13:1-10, 11-16; Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:13-21.


 

(Greek: "sanctuary") 

1. An area marked off from common use either for a king, or for a god.

2. Temenos also is a leading Scandinavian journal of religious studies.


 

(Japanese) The structure where ablutions of hands and mouth are performed near the entrance of a Shinto shrine.


 

1. A building where worship takes place

2. In popular usage, refers primarily to buildings used for worship services by Jews and Buddhists.


 

(Italian) Baked clay; fired but unglazed clay, used mainly for wall covering and ornamentation as it can be fired in molds.


 

A level promenade in front of a building.


 

A flooring finish of marble chips mixed with cement mortar and laid in situ; the surface is then ground and polished.


 

The small cubes of glass, stone, marble or tile used in mosaic.


 

A cement floor or wall covering in which tesserae are embedded.


 

Horizontal beam forming part of the structure of a roof. It connects two walls, preventing them from moving apart.


 

In Hinduism: Auspicious clay marks that sanctify a devotee's body as a temple of the Lord.


 

(Pali: "threefold collection") A term for the Buddhist canonical scriptures. (see also Tripitaka)


 

(Hebrew: teaching, instruction, revelation) In Judaism: The first section of the Hebrew Bible, it contains the five Books of Moses, known as the Pentateuch.  Also, it is a general term referring to divine law and instruction. (See Bible, Hebrew Bible)


 

In Jewish architecture: The place in a synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept between readings.


 

(Japanese) A symbolic gateway erected at the entrance to the sacred precincts of a Shinto shrine, separating the inner area from the profane world surrounding it. Several torii may be erected along the avenue of approach.


 

The ornamental work in the upper part of a window, screen, or panel, or used decoratively in blank arches and vaults. Most commonly used to describe the decorative carved stonework of Gothic church windows.


 

In Christian church architecture:

1. The transverse arms of a cross-shaped church, usually between the nave and the chancel, but also occasionally at the west end of the nave as well, and also doubled, with the eastern arms farther east than the junction of nave and chancel.

2. In a Latin cross plan (as in a Gothic cathedral) the section that crosses the nave, usually separating the nave and the choir.

3. Area of a cruciform church which laterally intersects the main body of the church at the crossing.

4. Part of a church or cathedral built at right angles to the nave and choir, often housing small chapels.


 

A three-lobed or leaf-shaped curve formed by the cusping of a circle or arch.


 

1. The apse of a basilica or basilican church.

2. A raised platform or rostrum.

3. The gallery in a church.


 

The arcaded story between the nave arcade and the clerestory.


 

The framing or edging of openings and other features on a facade or indoors. It is usually of a color and material different from that of the adjacent wall surface.


 

(Sanskrit: “three baskets”) The earliest settled scriptural corpus of the Buddhists which is divided into three main sections. (see also Tipitaka)


 

A late medieval pointed arch whose shanks start with a curve near to a quarter circle and continue to the apex in a straight line.


 

In Sikhism: The Ten Gurus wore turbans, as do male members of the khalsa. A male child who has become an initiated Sikh, or who belongs to a family of initiated Sikhs, must wear a turban as soon as he is able to tie one. This usually happens at about the time of the tenth birthday.


 

Classical Roman Order of Architecture.


 

A very small and slender tower.


 

1. In Christian church architecture: The sculptural area enclosed by the arch above the doors of a cathedral.

2. The area between the lintel of a doorway and the arch above it; also the triangular or segmental space enclosed by the moldings of a pediment

3. The triangular space enclosed by the horizontal base and sloping cornices of a pediment, often decorated.


 

(Hebrew) In Judaism:

1. The braided fringes on the four corners of a tallit, which represent the four corners of the world and which are knotted so as to correspond, numerically, with the name of God.

2. Also, a poncho-like undershirt worn by Jewish men, which has these fringes attached to its four corners.


 

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