Final Terms

Question 1

aisle

Answer 1

a passageway to either side of the nave that is separated from the nave by colonnades or arcades.

Question 2

apse

Answer 2

A semicircular or polygonal projection of a building, usually vaulted and used especially at the sanctuary or the east end of a church to define the space for the altar. Also called the exedra
atrium: 2. the forecourt of an early Christian church, flanked or surrounded by porticos.

Question 3

baldechino

Answer 3

an ornamental canopy of stone or marble permanently placed over the high altar in a church baptistery: A part of a church or a separate building in which the rite of baptism is administered.

Question 4

basilica

Answer 4

An early Christian church, characterized by a long rectangular plan, a high colonnaded nave lit by a clerestory and covered by a timbered gable roof, two or four side aisles, a semicircular apse at the end, and a narthex

Question 5

baray

Answer 5

a large shallow water tank, or reservoir and irrigation system for the watering of crops in Southeast Asia.

Question 6

brackets

Answer 6

The Chinese wood roof structure system designed as a structural support of the roof and to resist earthquake forces

Question 7

campo

Answer 7

the public square, or piazza of a medieval Italian city

Question 8

cenote

Answer 8

The Mayan word for deep water-filled sinkholes that the Itza associated with the underworld.

Question 9

chacmool

Answer 9

Toltec sacrificial altar in the shape of a reclining man

Question 10

chancel

Answer 10

the space about the altar of the church for the clergy and choir, often elevated above the nave and separated by a rail or screen

Question 11

chevet

Answer 11

(Fench for “headpiece”) the apse area of a French Gothic Cathedral

Question 12

clerestory

Answer 12

The uppermost section of a church nave characterized by a series of large windows above the adjacent rooftops to admit daylight into the interior.

Question 13

cupola

Answer 13

a light structure on a dome or roof, usually crowned with a dome and serving as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere.

Question 14

coatepantli

Answer 14

the “snake wall” with decorative image of partly skeletonized men being devoured by snakes found in Toltec pyramids

Question 15

colonette

Answer 15

small slender column often in the pier of a gothic church that visually traces the forces in the vaults overhead

Question 16

didactic

Answer 16

intended to convey instruction and information as well as pleasure and entertainment

Question 17

dome

Answer 17

a vaulted structure having a circular or polygonal plan and usually the form of a portion of a sphere, so constructed as to exert an equal thrust in all directions.

Question 18

fang

Answer 18

urban neighborhood block in Chinese cities. Each fang was its miniature city with transportation networks, walls and towers

Question 19

gable roof

Answer 19

A roof sloping downward in two parts from a central ridge so as to form a gable at each end.

Question 20

groin-vault

Answer 20

a compound vault formed by the perpendicular intersection of two vaults forming arched diagonal arises called groins.

Question 21

iwan

Answer 21

A large vaulted hall serving as an entrance portal into a courtyard: prevalent in Parthian, Sassanian and later in Islamic architecture.

Question 22

lingam

Answer 22

literally, “phallus”, but also “mark” or “sign”; the symbol for the god Shiva

Question 23

mandala

Answer 23

a Buddhist or Hindu diagram of the cosmos, often used as a guide for Indian temple plans.

Question 24

mandapa

Answer 24

a pillared hall in front of the Hindu temple and sometimes connected to it

Question 25

martyrium

Answer 25

1. a site that bore witness to important events in the life of Christ or one of his apostles. 2. A place where relics of a martyr are kept. 3. A church erected over the tomb of a martyr or in honor of a martyr.

Question 26

mendicant

Answer 26

religious orders who rely on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive

Question 27

mihrab

Answer 27

niche in the qibla wall of a mosque

Question 28

minaret

Answer 28

the tower in the mosque from which the faithful are called to prayer.

Question 29

narthex

Answer 29

1. the portico before the nave of an early Christian or Byzantine church. 2. An entrance hall or vestibule leading to a church

Question 30

nave

Answer 30

the principle or central part of a church extending from the narthex to the choir or chancel and usually flanked by aisles

Question 31

proportion

Answer 31

in architecture it is a correspondence among the measures of the members of an entire work, and of the whole to a certain part selected as standard.

Question 32

qibla

Answer 32

the mosque wall facing Mecca

Question 33

refectory

Answer 33

is a dining room, especially in monasteries, boarding schools, and academic institutions.

Question 34

rose window

Answer 34

a large circular window, usually of stained glass and decorated with tracery, symmetrical about the center.

Question 35

shikhara

Answer 35

the tower of a Hindu temple, usually tapered convexly and capped by a amalaka.

Question 36

transept

Answer 36

1. The major transverse part of a cruciform church, crossing the main axis at a right angle between the nave and the choir. 2. Either of the projecting arms of this part, on either side of the central aisle (nave) of the church.

Question 37

triforium

Answer 37

the arcaded wall corresponding to the space between the vaulting and the roof of an aisle, usually opening to the nave.

Question 38

typanum

Answer 38

the recessed triangular space enclosed by the raking cornices of a triangular pediment, often decorated with sculpture.

Question 39

vihara

Answer 39

Buddhist monk dormitory