exedra
Americannoun
plural
exedrae-
(in ancient Greece and Rome) a room or covered area open on one side, used as a meeting place.
-
a permanent outdoor bench, semicircular in plan and having a high back.
noun
-
a building, room, portico, or apse containing a continuous bench, used in ancient Greece and Rome for holding discussions
-
an outdoor bench in a recess
Other Word Forms
- exedral adjective
Etymology
Origin of exedra
1700–10; < Latin: hall furnished with seats < Greek exédra (covered) walk with seats, equivalent to ex- ex- 3 + ( h ) édra seat, bench
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The exedra — a Greek term for what became a popular garden feature in the 18th century — has a statue of Eros at its center in commemoration of the Seilheimers’ 40th wedding anniversary.
From Washington Post • Sep. 24, 2020
A collaboration by Augustus Saint-Gaudens on an exedra designed by architect Stanford White, the statue, cast in 1880, stands above reliefs of two female figures representing Loyalty and Courage.
From New York Times • Sep. 23, 2018
It consists of an exedra and pedestal surmounted by a figure of Peace . . . backed by an illuminated cross.
From Time Magazine Archive
The exedra I mentioned just now is of concrete.
From The Amateur Garden by Cable, George Washington
Adjoining this room is a large exedra with a little impluvium in the middle, which seems to indicate an aperture in the roof, a construction hitherto found only in atria.
From Museum of Antiquity A Description of Ancient Life by Haines, T. L. (Thomas Louis)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
