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541 results for: Basilica

Dictionary Entries (7 more entries. View all »)
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)Cite This Source
ba·sil·i·ca    Audio Help   [buh-sil-i-kuh, -zil-] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.an early Christian or medieval church of the type built esp. in Italy, characterized by a plan including a nave, two or four side aisles, a semicircular apse, a narthex, and often other features, as a short transept, a number of small semicircular apses terminating the aisles, or an atrium. The interior is characterized by strong horizontality, with little or no attempt at rhythmic accents. All spaces are usually covered with timber roofs or ceilings except for the apse or apses, which are vaulted.
2.one of the seven main churches of Rome or another Roman Catholic church accorded the same religious privileges.
3.(in ancient Rome) a large oblong building used as a hall of justice and public meeting place.
[Origin: 1535–45; < L < Gk basilik hall, short for basilik oikía royal house. See basilic]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Thesaurus Entries
  Synonym Collection v1.1Cite This Source
Main Entry:  basilica
Part of Speech:  noun
Synonyms:  church, shrine, temple, title
Source:  Synonym Collection v1.1
Copyright © 2008 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC.
Encyclopedia Articles (531 more entries. View all »)
Columbia Electronic EncyclopediaCite This Source


basilica, large building erected by the Romans for transacting business and disposing of legal matters. Rectangular in form with a roofed hall, the building usually contained an interior colonnade, with an apse at one end or at each end. The central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, so that light could penetrate through the clerestory windows. The oldest known basilica was built in Rome in 184 B.C. by the elder Cato. Other early examples are the Basilica Porcia in Rome and one at Pompeii (late 2d cent. B.C.). Probably the most splendid Roman basilica is the one constructed during the reign of Maxentius and finished by Constantine after 313. In the 4th cent. Christians began to build edifices for worship that were related to the form of the basilicas. These had a center nave with one aisle at each side and an apse at one end: on this platform sat the bishop and priests. Basilicas of this type were built not only in Western Europe but in Greece, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine. A good example of the Middle Eastern basilica is the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem (6th cent.). The finest basilicas in Rome were St. John Lateran and St. Paul's-outside-the-Walls (4th cent.), and San Clemente (6th cent.). Gradually there emerged the massive Romanesque churches, which still retained the fundamental plan of the basilica. 
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004, Columbia University Press.
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