reredos

rere·dos

R0170500 (rîr′dŏs′, rîr′ĭ-, rĕr′ĭ-)n.1. A decorative screen or facing on the wall at the back of an altar.2. The back of an open hearth of a fireplace.

[Middle English, from Anglo-Norman, from areredos : arere, behind (Latin ad-, ad- + Latin retrō, backward; see re- in Indo-European roots) + dos, back (from Latin dorsum).]

reredos

(ˈrɪədɒs) n1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) a screen or wall decoration at the back of an altar, in the form of a hanging, tapestry, painting, or piece of metalwork or sculpture2. (Furniture) another word for fireback¹[C14: from Old French areredos, from arere behind + dos back, from Latin dorsum]

rere•dos

(ˈrɪər dɒs, ˈrɪər ɪ-, ˈrɛər ɪ-)

n. a screen or a decorated part of the wall behind an altar in a church. [1325–75; Middle English, alter. of Anglo-French areredos= Middle French arere behind (see arrear) + dos back (< Latin dorsum)]

Thesaurus

Noun

reredos - a painted or carved screen placed above and behind an altar or communion tablealtarpiecescreen - partition consisting of a decorative frame or panel that serves to divide a space

Translations

retablo

reredos

(rēr`dŏs), ornamented wall or screen that rises behind the high altar of a church, forming a background for it. It may be placed against the apse wall at the extreme end or directly behind the altar, as in certain English churches where it serves to separate the choir and the retrochoir. Called dossal, or dorsal in its earliest form, it was a tapestry or a richly embroidered fabric suspended behind the altar. In the 11th and 12th cent. the reredos was generally a screen of gold, silver, or ivory adorned with sculptures in relief. It became a permanent architectural feature in the late Gothic in England and the Renaissance in Spain, where it was seen as a lofty decorative structure filling the entire width of the choir. Relief sculptures of the Passion and figures of angels and saints were enclosed by a rich framework of pilasters and pinnacles. Especially ornate were the marble and alabaster examples in Spain and those of polychromed and gilded wood in the baroque churches of Mexico. The reredos of Italy and Germany were primarily religious paintings within an architectural framework.

reredos

reredos An ornamental screen or wall at the back of an altar.

reredos

a screen or wall decoration at the back of an altar, in the form of a hanging, tapestry, painting, or piece of metalwork or sculpture

reredos

rere·dos

reredos

rere•dos

reredos

reredos

reredos

reredos

reredos

Synonyms for reredos

noun a painted or carved screen placed above and behind an altar or communion table

Synonyms

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