fan vaulting
- noun
- Specialized
:
bóveda en abanico
- Tourists marvelled at the intricate fan vaulting inside King's College Chapel.
Examples
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Medieval architects perfected fan vaulting during the late Gothic period in England.
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The ceiling of the chapel features exquisite fan vaulting that draws the eye upward.
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The cathedral features stunning fan vaulting in its ceiling.
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Many Gothic churches showcase fan vaulting as a key architectural element.
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The fan vaulting in King's College Chapel showcases the intricate design of Gothic architecture.
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Many visitors are captivated by the stunning fan vaulting that adorns the ceilings of cathedrals.
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The architect incorporated fan vaulting to create an elegant and expansive appearance in the church.
How Ornate
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'fan' (fan-like) describes the shape and 'vaulting' denotes an arched ceiling, so a learner who knows both words can infer a vault arranged in a fan pattern. This literal adjective-noun combination follows regular English compounding and is cross-linguistically transparent, making it accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Fan vaulting comes from the clear picture the ceiling makes: the stone ribs spread out like an open fan and together form the arched roof called vaulting. So, fan vaulting means a 'style' of ceiling where the ribs make a fan-shaped pattern, often seen in old churches.
