dome

¹dome

noun \ˈdōm\

Definition of DOME

1

archaic : a stately building : mansion

2

: a large hemispherical roof or ceiling

3

: a natural formation or structure that resembles the dome or cupola of a building

4

: a form of crystal composed of planes parallel to a lateral axis that meet above in a horizontal edge like a roof

5

: an upward fold in rock whose sides dip uniformly in all directions

6

: a roofed sports stadium

7

: a person's head

— dom·al \ˈdō-məl\ adjective

Examples of DOME

1. the dome of the Capitol building
2. The team's new stadium is a dome.

Origin of DOME

French, Italian, & Latin; French dôme dome, cathedral, from Italian duomo cathedral, from Medieval Latin domus church, from Latin, house; akin to Greek domos house, Sanskrit dam

First Known Use: 1513

Related to DOME

Synonyms

bean, block [slang], head, mazard (or mazzard) [chiefly dialect], nob, noddle, noggin, noodle, nut [slang], pate, poll

Related Words

cranium, crown, scalp, skull; occiput

Other Architecture Terms

buttress, casita, cornice, fanlight, garret, lintel, parapet, pilaster, plinth

²dome

verb

domeddom·ing

Definition of DOME

transitive verb

1

: to cover with a dome

2

: to form into a dome

intransitive verb

: to swell upward or outward like a dome

First Known Use of DOME

1876

dome

noun \ˈdōm\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of DOME

: a rounded-arch element in the wave tracing in an electroencephalogram <the spike and dome pattern characteristic of absence seizures>

dome

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

A dome is traditionally supported primarily by a cylindrical or polygonal drum; it may be …—© Merriam-Webster Inc.

In architecture, a hemispherical structure evolved from the arch, forming a ceiling or roof. Domes first appeared on round huts and tombs in the ancient Middle East, India, and the Mediterranean in forms, such as solid mounds, adaptable only to the smallest buildings. The Romans introduced the large-scale masonry hemisphere. A dome exerts thrust all around its perimeter, and the earliest monumental examples (see Pantheon) required heavy supporting walls. Byzantine architects invented a technique for raising domes on piers, making the transition from a cubic base to the hemisphere by four pendentives. Bulbous or pointed domes were widely used in Islamic architecture. The design spread to Russia, where it gained great popularity in the form of the onion dome, a pointed, domelike roof structure. The modern geodesic dome, developed by R. Buckminster Fuller, is fabricated of lightweight triangular framing that distributes stresses within the structure itself.