barrel vault

noun

, Architecture.

1. a vault having the form of a very deep arch.

barrel vault

noun

1. architect a vault in the form of a half cylinder Also calledwagon vaulttunnel vault

Other Words From

• barrel-vaulted adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of barrel vault¹

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Forty-eight columns with Byzantine and Greek capitals support the brick barrel vault of the nave.

From Project Gutenberg

The height of the interior, from the floor to the centre of the barrel-vault of the nave, is a little over seventy feet.

From Project Gutenberg

The nave of the church has a pointed barrel vault, and the aisles half-barrel vaults, but all the cross arches are semi-circular.

From Project Gutenberg

Sometimes the ceilings were horizontal, sometimes canted on two sides, and sometimes they take the form of a barrel-vault.

From Project Gutenberg

They were a variant of the barrel vault of the region preferred because less material was required.

From Project Gutenberg