What does "apse" mean?

The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar.

What is a synonym for "apse"?

Common synonyms include: alcove, ambry, apsis, arcade, arcature, arch.

/æps/ noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar.
"Holonyms: church, cathedral"
2
An aspen tree. dialectal, obsolete
3
a domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar wordnet
4
The rounded east end of a church that contains or is behind the altar.; The interior portion of this section of the church building, excluding the ambulatory and any apse chapels.
5
A semicircular projection from any building that is similar to a church's apse.
"The college has an apse that once held a small chapel."

Show 3 more definitions

6
The bishop's seat or throne in ancient churches.
7
A reliquary: a case in which the relics of saints are kept.
8
Obsolete form of apsis (“the nearest and furthest points to the centre of gravitational attraction for a body in orbit”). alt-of, obsolete

"Meronyms: ambulatory, apse chapels"

From Latin apsis, hapsis, from Ancient Greek ἁψίς (hapsís, “arch, vault”), from ἅπτω (háptō, “I bind, join”).