Peristyle

//ˈpɛɹəstaɪl// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A colonnade surrounding a courtyard, temple, etc., or the yard enclosed by such columns.

    "One cannot, for example, see the Temple of Æsculapius as one stands in the fine open courtyard as it was intended one should do; the interstices on that side of the peristyle have been blocked by Venetian Gothic buildings."

  2. 2
    a colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a court wordnet
  3. 3
    A porch surrounded by columns.
  4. 4
    A sacred roofed courtyard with a central pillar (the potomitan), used as a space for voodoo ceremonies, either alone or as an adjunct to an enclosed temple or altar-room.

    "The peristyle is a roofed structure, open at the sides, in which most of the ceremonials and dances take place."

Etymology

From French péristyle, from Classical Latin peristȳlum, from περίστυλον (perístulon), from περι- (peri-, “around”) + στῦλος (stûlos, “pillar”).

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