vault
/vɑlt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.90 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An arched masonry structure supporting and forming a ceiling, whether freestanding or forming part of a larger building.
noun
Anything resembling such a downward-facing concave structure, particularly caves and the sky or firmament.
noun
The space covered by an arched roof, particularly underground rooms and (Christianity, obsolete) church crypts.
noun
noun
Any burial chamber, particularly those underground.
Example Sentences
- "The decoration of the vault of Sainte-Chapelle was much brighter before its 19th-century restoration."
- "the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault"
- "The stalactites held tightly to the cave's vault."
- "His fiery eies are fixt vpon the earth. As if he now deuiſ’d some Stratageme: Or meant to pierce Auernus darkſome vauts. To pull the triple headed dog from hell."
- "Had I your tongues and eyes, Il’d vſe them so, That Heauens vault ſhould crack: ſhe’s gone for euer."
- "The ſilent vaults of Death, vnknowne to Light; And Hell it ſelfe, lye naked to his ſight."
Etymology
From Middle English vaute, vowte, from Old French volte (modern voûte), from Vulgar Latin *volta < *volvita or *volŭta, a regularization of Latin volūta (compare modern volute (“spire”)), the past participle of volvere (“roll, turn”). Cognate with Spanish vuelta (“turn”) and Portuguese volta ("turn"). Doublet of volute. Displaced native Old English hwealf.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /vɑlt/
- British English: /vɒlt/