narthex
/ˈnɑɹθɛks/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.76 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "we were in the antechamber, called the narthex, which runs across the front of any Byzantine church [...]."
- "One of these was Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi, [...] who had now conceived ambitious plans for paintings to decorate the entire narthex, or entrance porch, of Avignon's ancient cathedral."
- "“Cinco,” Marco bellowed now, hurrying across the narthex to give him a hearty handshake, which Cinco returned without enthusiasm."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek νάρθηξ (nárthēx, “giant fennel; casket”), a Pre-Greek word, as suggested by the suffix. See also νάρδος (nárdos, “nard”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: νάρθηξ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnɑɹθɛks/
- British English: /ˈnɑːθɛks/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
endonarthex
exonarthex