reredos
English
Etymology
From Middle English reredos, from Anglo-Norman reredos, areredos; equivalent to rere (“rear”) + French dos (“back”).
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 159: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value RP is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈɹiɹ.dɒs/
Alternative forms
Noun
reredos (plural reredoses)
- A screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or images.
- 1871, The Sacristy: A Quarterly Review of Ecclesiastical Art and Literature, Volume 1, John Hodges, London, page 246,
- A bad reredos will ruin the best church ever designed; and, although a good reredos cannot convert a bad church into a good one, it may do much to lessen the offensiveness of its badness.
- 1998, Paul V. M. Flesher, Rereading the Reredos: David, Orpheus, and Messianism in the Dura Europa Syngogue, Dān Ûrman, Paul Virgil McCracken Flesher (editors), Ancient Synagogues: Historical Analysis and Archaeological Discovery, page 363,
- Confusion has reigned in scholarly interpretation, however, because the dark-colored leaves have shown through the succeeding coats of paint across the reredos, interfering with the later scenes.
- 2007, F. E. Howard, English Church Woodwork, page 137,
- There seem to be no remains of wooden reredoses of the fourteenth century, though there are a number of examples in stone.
- 1871, The Sacristy: A Quarterly Review of Ecclesiastical Art and Literature, Volume 1, John Hodges, London, page 246,
- The back of an open fire-hearth, in medieval halls.
Synonyms
Translations
screen or decoration behind the altar in a church — see retable
Anagrams
Middle English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Altar_piece_Santar%C3%A9m_May_2015-1.jpg/220px-Altar_piece_Santar%C3%A9m_May_2015-1.jpg)
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman reredos, areredos; equivalent to rere (“rear, following”) + Old French dos (“back”).
Pronunciation
Noun
reredos (plural reredosis)
- A reredos or retable; a panel at the back of an altar.
- A dorsal; a hanging or tapestry at the back of an altar.
- (rare) The back of a fireplace or hearth.
- (rare) A wood screen against the back of a chair or wall.
- (rare) A panel of armour for protecting the rear.
- (rare) The rearguard of an army.
Descendants
- English: reredos
References
- “rēre-dō̆s(e (n.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-08-11.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- Middle English terms borrowed from Anglo-Norman
- Middle English terms derived from Anglo-Norman
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English nouns
- Middle English terms with rare senses
- enm:Armor
- enm:Fabrics
- enm:Military
- enm:Religion