Descriptionary

Russian Architecture

dacha a country home.

dvoine a twin-pyramid-towered church.

izba a log cabin or small wooden cottage.

kokoshniki decorative gables or arches not needed for support and usually found in multiple tiers around the drums supporting onion domes.

kremlin a citadel of a city.

krest a cross.

lukovitsa an onion dome.

nalichniki in older wooden cottages, the carved decorations at the ends of gables and around window frames.

onion dome capping a cupola or tower, a bulbous dome ending in a point and resembling an onion.

shatrovy pyramid-shaped towers, commonly found on older Russian churches.

troine a triple-pyramid-towered church.

spanish Architecture

adobe sun-dried, unburned clay and straw, a com­mon building material.

alcazar a Spanish castle.

azothea on the roof of a house, a terrace or plat­form.

capilla mayor the main chapel in a Spanish church.

hacienda a large estate, plantation, or ranch.

mirador a window or roof pavilion with a com­manding or spectacular view.

mission architecture Spanish colonial church and monastery architecture, often characterized by twin bell towers.

mission tile semicylindrical clay roofing tile. Also known as Spanish tile.

posada an inn.

ramada a rustic arbor or an open porch.

LIGHTHOUSES

ANTS short for Aid to Navigation Teams; Coast Guard personnel who inspect and maintain auto­mated lighthouses quarterly or annually.

caisson a lighthouse mounted on a large founda­tion.

cupola the domed top of a lighthouse.

diaphone fog signal a two-tone fog signal, making a sound similar to breeeeeooooooo.

gallery a railed walkway around a lantern.

keeper a person who maintains and/or lives in a lighthouse, all but abolished by 1990.

lamp the light inside the lens.

lamp changer a device that automatically changes a worn-out lightbulb.

lantern collective term for the lamp, the lens, and their containment.

lens a Fresnel lens used to magnify and concentrate light.

lightship a ship fitted with lanterns and anchored permanently at sea to serve as a floating lighthouse.

range lights paired towers consisting of a short lighthouse at the entrance to a harbor or a channel, and a distant, taller lighthouse; a safe course is fol­lowed by keeping the lights one atop the other.

screwpile a lighthouse with legs of huge screws that are twisted into the ground as anchors.

skeleton light a lighthouse with an open framework tower.

walkway on a large lighthouse, a railed walkway above the gallery that gives access for cleaning the outside of the lantern glass.

RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS

abat-voix a sound reflector above the pulpit.

abbey a monastery or convent.

agnus dei any artwork representing a lamb that is emblematic of Christ.

aguilla the obelisk or spire of a church tower.

almariol a storage room or niche for ecclesiastical vestments. Also known as an ambry.

almehrabh a niche in an Arabian mosque that marks the direction of Mecca.

almemar in a synagogue, a desk on which the Torah rests while being read from to the congregation.

altar the elevated table or structure used for reli­gious offerings or rites.

altar frontal an ornamental hanging or panel front­ing the altar.

altar of repose a repository or niche where the Host is kept from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday in a Roman Catholic church.

altarpiece above and behind the altar, an ornamen­tal painting or screen or sculpture.

altar screen a decorative partition separating the altar from the space behind.

altar slab a stone or slab forming the top of an altar.

ambry a repository or niche for sacraments.

ambulatory an aisle or walkway around the apse of a church.

ambulatory church a church with a dome sur­rounded on three sides by aisles.

antechapel an entrance, porch, or vestibule in front of a chapel.

antenave a porch leading into the nave of a church.

antepodium behind the dais in a choir, seating for the clergy.

apostolaeum any church dedicated to or named after an apostle.

apse the semicylindrical or semidomed space or room housing the altar.

archiepiscopal cross a cross with two transverse arms, the shorter one on top, the longer one near the center.

ark in a synagogue, an ornamental repository for the scrolls of the Torah.

armariolum in a cathedral or monastic church, a wardrobe for keeping vestments.

aspersorium a font for holy water.

aureole the glory or radiance surrounding the head of a sacred figure.

baptistery a building or portion of a building where baptisms are held.