\ ˈaps 
\
\Definition of apse
1 : apsis sense 1
2 : a projecting part of a building (such as a church) that is usually semicircular in plan and vaulted
Examples of apse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web But another priest, Don Mario Carminati at the church of San Giuseppe in the Bergamo suburb of Seriate, refused such rites, instead piling up coffins in his aisles and apse.
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Ed Vulliamy, The New York Review of Books, "Will Covid Change Italy?," 8 Sep. 2020 Located near Bath Abbey, the two semi-circular stone structures appear to have once been part of an Anglo-Saxon apse—the end of a church that often contains the altar—and date to sometime between the eighth and tenth centuries.
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Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, "Newly Unearthed Anglo-Saxon Monastery May Have Hosted England’s First Coronation," 31 Jan. 2020 Don’t miss the apse’s vault, where Christ, flanked by four angels, sits on the Earth as four rivers of paradise flow beneath his feet.
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Prathap Nair, National Geographic, "Visit Italy’s mesmerizing city of mosaics," 20 Aug. 2019 As in a Gothic cathedral, the living room acts as a kind of apse from which the chapels of the dining room, entertainment room, and kitchen all radiate.
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Charles Curkin, ELLE Decor, "Discover Lofty Views in a New York City Super-Tall Skyscraper," 20 Nov. 2019 To the right and left of the apse are Coptic inscriptions.
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Jim Berkeley, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Egypt," 5 Oct. 2016 Visitors enter through a narrow passage into a spare, traditional looking chapel whose apse wall is pockmarked with charcoal pieces framing a wooden cross.
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Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times, "The Most Surprising Entry in Venice’s Architecture Biennale? The Vatican’s," 25 May 2018 At the east end of the wide nave, once covered by two domes, is the large apse, with three rectangular niches under semi-domes.
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Jim Berkeley, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Egypt," 5 Oct. 2016 It is posed in glorious isolation, back to the viewer, in a stone apse.
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Laura Jacobs, WSJ, "‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ Review: A Gift From the Sartorial Gods," 10 May 2018
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'apse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for apse
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nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of apse
: a part of a church that is shaped like a half circle and that is usually at the east end of the building
See the full definition for apse in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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Time Traveler for apse
The first known use of apse was in 1715
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