velarium
/vɪˈlɛəɹi.əm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An awning that stretched over the seating area of the Colosseum in Ancient Rome and other Roman amphitheaters.
Example Sentences
- "In accordance with the epochal significance of the occasion, Berlin was decked out as never before in its history. […] A velarium suspended over Unter den Linden depicted the great military victories that had finally brought Germany its unity."
- "Royal Albert Hall [was dedicated] by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). As The Times reported on the next day: 'The address [...] was somewhat marred by an echo [...]'. To Col. Scott, the designer of the huge roof structure, this acoustic problem was a mere irritant which could be solved by a velarium of cloth (weighing 1+¹⁄₄ tons) stretched underneath the roof. But in spite of experiments with the height of the velarium, the echo persisted […]"
Etymology
Word Breakdown
- Suffix: -ārium