triclinium
1
9.9
- noun
- /traɪˈklɪniəm/
- Specialized
- The wealthy Roman family gathered in the triclinium to enjoy a lavish feast together.
Examples
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The building at its grandest is known today as the Triconch Palace (A.D. 425) for its distinctive trefoil triclinium (dining area).
Academic text (2006) -
One of these was the triclinium, or dining room.
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Undoubtedly, this is the triclinium, or what survives sad.
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Above: The triclinium from the new excavations at Moregine.
Academic text (2003) -
Although there was no standard House plan, most were centered on a courtyard with a portico on at least one side and a triclinium or dining room opening from it.
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Foster set the scene: "The narrator is sitting by himself at this banquet, and he is trying to figure out why there is a wild boar running around the triclinium dining room with a hat on its head."
Academic text (1994) -
During the banquet, the guests reclined on the couches in the triclinium as they shared stories and laughter.
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After the sumptuous meal, the servants began to clean the dishes in the triclinium while the guests relaxed.
Synonyms
45
1.0
A table for people to sit around and eat meals together
31
1.0
A table in a dining room where people eat meals
Surface Forms
Morphology
triclinium = tri + clin + ium
Although analyzable as tri- (three) + a root related to reclining + -ium, it is a learned Latin/Greek technical term (a Roman dining room) and its meaning is not transparently derivable by an average learner from the parts.
Etymology
The word triclinium comes from Latin parts tri- meaning 'three' and clin- from a word for 'couch' or 'to lean', the same idea you see in English recline. So a triclinium was literally a dining room with three couches to lean back on while eating.