cupola

[kyoo-puh-luh] /ˈkyu pə lə/
noun
1.
Architecture.
  1. a light structure on a dome or roof, serving as a belfry, lantern, or belvedere.
  2. a dome, especially one covering a circular or polygonal area.
2.
any of various domelike structures.
3.
Metallurgy. a vertical furnace for melting iron to be cast.
Origin
1540-50; < Italian < Latin cūpula, equivalent to cūp(a) tub + -ula -ule. Cf. cup
Can be confused
copula, cupola.
Examples from the web for cupola
  • Here you'll come face-to-face with original stonework from the roof, including the bulky lantern cupola.
  • The room has a cupola and a window seat overlooking the grounds.
  • In the center of the hall ceiling is one of the house's main features: an impressive cupola with windows.
  • The cupola of the church is adorned with majolica tiles.
  • The mosaics in the cupola literally glitter with stars.
  • The latter left the room and mounted the stairs to the cupola on the roof of the white court house.
  • Far overhead, at the building's apex, a cupola acts as a vent.
  • Rafters radiate from the cupola to support the round roof.
  • The final effect was stately: a white building with a blue and white cupola topped by a weather vane.
  • Now and again a whimsically painted steeple breaks the horizon, its gilded cupola glittering in the bright spring sun.
British Dictionary definitions for cupola

cupola

/ˈkjuːpələ/
noun
1.
a roof or ceiling in the form of a dome
2.
a small structure, usually domed, on the top of a roof or dome
3.
a protective dome for a gun on a warship
4.
a vertical air-blown coke-fired cylindrical furnace in which iron is remelted for casting
Derived Forms
cupolated (ˈkjuːpəˌleɪtɪd) adjective
Word Origin
C16: from Italian, from Late Latin cūpula a small cask, from Latin cūpa tub
Word Origin and History for cupola
n.

1540s, from Italian cupola, from Late Latin cupula "a little tub," diminutive of Latin cupa "cask, barrel" (see cup (n.)).

cupola in Medicine

cupola cu·po·la (kyōō'pə-lə)
n.
A cup-shaped or domelike structure.

cupola in Culture
cupola [(kyooh-puh-luh)]

A small ornamental structure rising from a roof. Cupolas are often dome shaped.

Encyclopedia Article for cupola

in architecture, small dome, often resembling an overturned cup, placed on a circular, polygonal, or square base or on small pillars or a glassed-in lantern. It is used to crown a turret, roof, or larger dome. The inner vault of a dome is also a cupola.

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