SOME IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES

1. Abutment: is a solid masonry structure which stabilizes the lateral thrust of an arch or
vault.
2. Altar: a structure in which offerings to a deity are placed or sacrificed. The altar in
Christian churches is a table or slab on supports, consecrated for the celebration of the
sacraments.
3. Apse: in ancient Roman architecture: semi-circular space built onto or above an elevated
main space. In Christian Architecture; usually semi-circular termination of a rectangular
longitudinal structure; important component of church buildings.
4. Aqueduct: ancient Roman Empire water conduct whereby the town’s water supply was
carried through an open or concealed water channel consisting of an elevated masonry
or brick structure supported on several storeys of arches.
5. Arcade: the arrangement of several arches in a row. Arcades can be built alongside each
other or on top of each other along several floors of a building. (Arcade floor).
6. Arcaded walk: Open, vaulted arcaded hall or passage in or in front of a building. A
common feature of Italian Renaissance palazzos and public buildings.
7. Arch: vaulted structure in a wall opening or hall. The arch offers the only way in which to
span large spaces in stone structures as it absorbs the load and distributes it among the
supports. The inner curve or surface of an arch forming the concave underside is called
the “intrados”.
8. Atrium: central courtyard in the Roman residential building. In Early Christian and
Medieval architecture, a courtyard in front of a church.
9. Ashlar: natural stone which is cut into regular rectangular blocks.
10. Basilica: Hall of commerce and justice in the Roman Empire. Building type adopted by
the Christians. In Christian Church building tradition it is a multiple-aisle (passage)
building with a longitudinal axis and a nave (takes the congregation) which is higher than
the side aisles and lit by clerestory windows.
11. Blind arcade, blind arch, blind window: the elements of an arch or window applied to a
wall without any aperture (opening) for decorative and articulation purposes. Several
blind arches form a blind arcade.
12. Buttressing/flying buttress/pier buttress: Skeleton structure which is a particularly
common feature in Gothic Churches. They are found either on the exterior or along the
side aisles and are linked across the roof through the flying buttresses.
13. Campanile: Free-standing bell tower in Italian Church Complexes.
14. Capital: Head of column or pillar with ornamental, plant or figurative decoration.
15. Caryatid: Sculptured female figure used as a column to support an entablature or similar
member.(Found in ancient Athens capital of Greece). (Capital of Italy is Rome)
16. Chapel: Small independent space for religious worship or ceremonies which is added
onto a church (e.g. baptistery, palatine Chapel, etc.)
17. Choir: Originally the term for the elevated area is in Christian Churches where the divine
service is sung. The area beyond the nave has been known as the choir since the 8 th/9th
century.
18. Choir ambulatory: A passage surrounding the choir which is created through the
continuation of the side aisles and is usually separated from the choir by arcades.
19. Clerestory windows: upper area of the walls of the nave in a basilica which is pierced by
windows.
20. Cloister; a passage surrounding a square open courtyard in a monastery where the
Stations of the Cross are held.
21. Colonnade; Row of columns with vertical entablature (architrave) as distinct from an
arcade. (Columns at regular intervals but arcades is a series of arches)
22. Cornice; Horizontal strip projecting from a wall which differentiates the horizontal
sections of a building. (E.g. Socle, floor, roof) from each other and encloses the
perpendicular architectural elements (e.g. column, plaster).
23. Crossing: square or rectangular space which is created by the intersection of the nave
and transept (part that projects to the north and south) of the in a church
24. Crossing tower: a tower which sits on the crossing of a church.
25. Crossing-Square plan; common plan in Romanesque basilicas which is based on the
crossing square. One square in the nave corresponds to two squares half its length in the
side aisles.
26. Double-ended Church plan: church plan with an East and West choir.
27. Dwarf gallery: A wall passage with small arcading and delicate columns on the outside of
a building. A popular decorative form found in Romanesque buildings. It has no structural
function.
28. Early Christian basilica: Church with a longitudinal plan and several aisles with a nave
which is higher than the side aisles and clerestory windows above the nave.
29. Flamboyant style: late Gothic style in France
30. Flutes/fluting: the ridges along the shaft of ancient columns. (The long part of column)
31. Gallery:(i) in Church architecture, an upper storey over an aisle, opening onto the nave,
which is used to accommodate specific groups in the congregation (e.g. women, royalty)
and more importantly in design terms, an important feature in the articulation of the
wall surface. (ii) in secular architecture, a platform or mezzanine supported on columns
or brackets and overlooking the main interior space of a building.
32. Groin Vault: A compound vault formed by the perpendicular intersection of two vaults
forming arched diagonal arises called groins. Also known as a cross vault. (Intersection of
2 right angled barrel vaults)
33. Hall Church: Church with a longitudinal plan with aisles of (almost) the same height as
the nave and which often has a single roof covering both the nave and the aisles.
34. Illusionism: The use of pictorial techniques to create an illusion of three-dimensional
space and form on a two-dimensional surface.
35. Masonry Spur: A short piece of masonry which projects from a wall.
36. Minaret: Tall, slender tower connected with a Mosques from which the muezzin calls the
people to prayer. Originally a separate structure, it was later integrated into the general
mosque complex and some mosque were surrounded by several minarets.
37. Mosaic: Geometric or figurative surface decoration for walls, domes and floors. Coloured
pieces of glass or stone are joined in a bed of mortar.
38. Nave: In Churches with axial or longitudinal plans the elongated section of the building
which links the façade and the transept choir.
39. Pendentive: A concave spandrel leading from the angle of two walls to the base of a
circular dome.
40. Piloti: French name for free-standing column at ground- floor level of buildings favoured
by le Corbusier.
41. Pillar: Free-standing upright member on a rectangular or polygonal plan which can be
articulated in the same way as a column.
42. Portico: A porch on the columns (less commonly pillars) leading to the entrance of the
building. (porch)
43. Qibla Wall: wall in a mosque which indicates the direction in which Muslims must face
when praying i.e Mecca.
44. Rib: A rib is a load bearing structural element of a ceiling or vault. At later stages in the
development of the vault, the rib became a visible projecting band and was purely
decorative.
45. Side Aisle: Space in a church running parallel to the longitudinal axis which is separated
from the central aisle.
46. Socle: Base or pedestal of a building, columns or stature. (Most of this words are old
words, not English words)
47. Spandrel: An approximately triangular surface bounded by the outer curve of an arch
and the adjacent wall. This term is also applied to the surface between two arches in an
arcade and the surface of a vault between adjacent ribs.
48. Terracotta: fired unglued clay used to make wall coverings and ornamentation. E.g.
reliefs, architectural sculptures.
49. Transept: The horizontal structure which is built between the nave and the choir which
can have one or more aisles. The transept gives the church plan the form of a cross.