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reredos

American  
[reer-dos, reer-i-, rair-i-] / ˈrɪər dɒs, ˈrɪər ɪ-, ˈrɛər ɪ- /

noun

  1. a screen or a decorated part of the wall behind an altar in a church.

  2. the back of a fireplace or of a medieval open hearth.

reredos British  
/ ˈrɪədɒs /

noun

  1. 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

  2. another word for fireback

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of reredos

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, alteration of Anglo-French areredos, equivalent to Middle French arere “behind” + dos “back” (from Latin dorsum ); arrears

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.