baldacchin

English

Alternative forms

• baldacchino, baldachin, baldachino, baldakin, baldaquin, baudekin, baudekyn, baudkin, baudkyn, bawdekin

Etymology

Borrowed from French baldaquin, from Italian baldacchino, from Baldacca, a variant of Baghdad, where the material originally came from.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbaldəkɪn/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbældəkɪn/

Noun

baldacchin (plural baldacchins)

1. (uncountable, archaic) A rich, embroidered brocade used for clothing in the Middle Ages, the web being gold and the woof silk.
2. (countable) A canopy suspended over an altar or throne, originally made of this fabric; a ciborium.
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Penguin, published 2010, page 682:

     Bernini had already provided the chief coup de théâtre of the basilica's interior, the monumental bronze canopy or baldachino over the high altar and tomb of St Peter.

3. (countable) A building in form of a canopy, or a crown supported by pillars for the covering of an altar; a canopy carried over the host in Roman Catholic countries.
   • [1721, N[athan] Bailey, “BALDACHIN”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], London: […] E. Bell, J. Darby, […], →OCLC, column 1:

     BALDACHIN is a Building in form of a Canopy, or Crown ſupported by Pillars, often ſerving for the Covering of an Altar; Alſo a Canopy carried over the Hoſt in Popiſh Countries.]

Translations

canopy suspended over an altar or throne

• Belarusian: балдахі́н m (baldaxín)
• Bulgarian: балдахи́н (bg) m (baldahín)
• Czech: baldachýn m
• Danish: baldakin c
• Dutch: baldakijn (nl) m
• Esperanto: baldakeno (eo)
• Estonian: baldahhiin
• Finnish: baldakiini (fi)
• French: baldaquin (fr) m
• Galician: baldequín m
• German: Baldachin (de) m
• Hungarian: baldachin (hu)
• Ido: baldakino (io)
• Italian: baldacchino (it) m
• Latin: baldachinum n
• Latvian: baldačins m
• Lithuanian: baldakimas m
• Macedonian: балдахи́н m (baldahín)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: baldakin m

• Polish: baldachim (pl) m
• Romanian: baldahin (ro) n
• Russian: балдахи́н (ru) m (baldaxín)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: балда̀хӣн m

  Roman: baldàhīn (sh) m

• Slovak: baldachýn m
• Slovene: baldahin m
• Spanish: baldaquino (es) m
• Swedish: baldakin (sv) c
• Turkish: baldaken
• Ukrainian: балдахі́н (uk) m (baldaxín)