Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The upper part of the nave, transepts, and choir of a church, containing windows.
- noun An upper portion of a wall containing windows for supplying natural light to a building.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun See
clearstory .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun Same as
clearstory .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun architecture the
upper part of awall containingwindows to let innatural light to abuilding , especially in thenave ,transept andchoir of achurch orcathedral
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun part of an interior wall rising above the adjacent roof with windows admitting light
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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I thought the term clerestory window was pronounced like cler-est-or-eee.
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The eastern part of the clerestory is a modern reproduction of that which superseded Rahere's; but, with this exception, the interior of the choir was probably much the same originally as it is
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This applies only to the windows in the aisle; those in the triforium are of three lights, similar to those removed from the aisle; and those in the clerestory are the original Norman, just as on the north side.
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There are two small windows in the west wall to light the wall passage to the clerestory, which is reached by a gallery running across the base of the north window.
Bell's Cathedrals: Wimbourne Minster and Christchurch Priory A Short History of Their Foundation and a Description of Their Buildings Thomas Perkins 1874
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Without staying to examine the whole structure of a basilica, the reader will easily understand thus much of it: that it had a nave and two aisles, the nave much higher than the aisles; that the nave was separated from the aisles by rows of shafts, which supported, above, large spaces of flat or dead wall, rising above the aisles, and forming the upper part of the nave, now called the clerestory, which had a gabled wooden roof.
Stones of Venice [introductions] John Ruskin 1859
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Barbara Karant Glade House Lake Forest, Ill. Frederick Phillips and Associates This 3,200-square-foot house outside Chicago mixes traditional features -- cedar shingle siding, regularly-spaced vertical windows and gabled roofs -- with modern touches such as clerestory windows and an open-plan interior.
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The 'clerestory' of the sixteenth century is full of painted glass.
Normandy Picturesque Henry Blackburn 1863
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The window openings enclosed the magnificent views of the cliffs and the clerestory windows brought softened light.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
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One is of the Miracle of the loaves and fishes from the top register of the nave wall (above the clerestory windows) of Sant 'Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, ca. 504.
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The window openings enclosed the magnificent views of the cliffs and the clerestory windows brought softened light.
Bird Cloud Annie Proulx 2011
frindley commented on the word clerestory
One of those words that tends to be discovered in reading rather than in conversation. So for many years I thought it was pronounced cle-RES-tor-y (four syllables, stress on the second). Had a frustrating (’cause I lost) argument with my first boyfriend who, of course, pronounced it clear-story as it should be. But when it came to awry I won and all was well again.
April 1, 2008
yarb commented on the word clerestory
Gosh, is it really pronounced like that? Your ex may have been in the right technically, but cle-RES-tor-y is still the clear moral winner.
April 1, 2008
seanahan commented on the word clerestory
The etymology is clearly English, although from the spelling I can imagine that is why you'd think it was Latinate. Knowing the etymology, it couldn't be cle-RES-tor-y, but I give you full credit. Just assume that your ex got lucky.
I never did the spelling bee, but this seems like it would be a great word.
April 2, 2008
frindley commented on the word clerestory
The Macquarie Dictionary online gives the etymology as:
cler- clear + French estoré built
Perhaps there's some Latin in the "cler" part if one goes back far enough (clarus?).
April 2, 2008
fbharjo commented on the word clerestory
muddied-with-fail!
March 13, 2013