baldacchin

English

Alternative forms

• baldacchino
• baldachin
• baldachino
• baldakin
• baldaquin
• baudekin
• baudekyn
• baudkin
• baudkyn
• bawdekin

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French baldaquin, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Italian baldacchino, from Baldacca (“Baghdad”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaldəkɪn/

Noun

baldacchin (plural baldacchins)

1. A rich, embroidered brocade used for clothing in the Middle Ages, the web being gold and the woof silk.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Nares to this entry?)

2. A canopy suspended over an altar or throne, originally made of this fabric; a ciborium.
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 682:

     Bernini had already provided the chief coup de théâtre of the basilica's interior, the monumental bronze canopy or baldachino over the high altar and tomb of St Peter.

3. A building in form of a canopy, or a crown supported by pillars for the covering of an altar; a canopy carried over the host in Roman Catholic countries.
   • [1721, N[athan] Bailey, “BALDACHIN”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], London: […] E. Bell, J. Darby, […], →OCLC, column 1:

     BALDACHIN is a Building in form of a Canopy, or Crown ſupported by Pillars, often ſerving for the Covering of an Altar; Alſo a Canopy carried over the Hoſt in Popiſh Countries.]

Translations

canopy suspended over an altar or throne

• Esperanto: baldakeno (eo)
• Finnish: baldakiini (fi)
• French: baldaquin (fr) m
• German: Baldachin (de) m
• Ido: baldakino (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Interlingue:
• Italian: baldacchino (it) m
• Russian: балдахи́н (ru) m (baldaxín)
• Spanish: baldaquino (es) m