Thursday, June 17, 2010

Define: Reredos

From The Murder Room by P.D. James.
. . . the gloriously adorned interior imposed its moment of astonished quietude. From floor to roof no part of it had been left undecorated. The walls gleamed with mosaics and murals and the reredos with its row of painted saints drew the eye towards the glory of the high altar.

From The Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Main Entry: rere dos
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French reredors, areredos, from arere behind + dos back, from Latin dorsum - more at arrear
Date: 14th century

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