Apsidal vs. Apse

Apsidaladjective

(architecture) Of, pertaining to, or in the form of an apse

Apsidaladjective

(astronomy) Of or pertaining to the apsides

Apsidaladjective

Of or pertaining to the apsides of an orbit.

Apsidaladjective

Of or pertaining to the apse of a church; as, the apsidal termination of the chancel.

Apsidaladjective

of or relating an apse

Apsenoun

(architecture) A semicircular projection from a building, especially the rounded east end of a church that contains the altar.

Apsenoun

The bishop's seat or throne in ancient churches.

Apsenoun

A reliquary, or case in which the relics of saints were kept.

Apsenoun

The nearest and furthest points to the centre of gravitational attraction for a body in orbit. More usually called an apsis.

Apsenoun

A projecting part of a building, esp. of a church, having in the plan a polygonal or semicircular termination, and, most often, projecting from the east end. In early churches the Eastern apse was occupied by seats for the bishop and clergy.

Apsenoun

A reliquary, or case in which the relics of saints were kept.

Apsenoun

a domed or vaulted recess or projection on a building especially the east end of a church; usually contains the altar

Apse

In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin absis 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek ἀψίς apsis 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an exedra. In Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic Christian church (including cathedral and abbey) architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical.