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Glite Dictionary
whispering gallery

whispering gallery

1 7.9
A curved space under a dome where quiet sounds travel to the opposite side
  • noun
  • /ˈwɪspərɪŋ ˈɡæləri/
  • Specialized
translation icon : galería susurrante
  • Visitors in the whispering gallery can communicate with each other by speaking softly and hearing their words echoed back.

Examples

  • When the wavelength of the laser light exactly matches the path length inside the waveguide, the waves superimpose and create a resonance, which acts analogously with the whispering gallery.

    Academic text (2010)

  • In the cathedral, voices from the choir can be clearly heard from the other side of the whispering gallery due to its special acoustics.

  • The new sensor is an improved version of a sensor called a whispering gallery microresonator.

    Academic text (2010)

  • Such sensors employ the same principle as whispering galleries in such buildings as the U.S. Capitol; these ellipsoid-shaped rooms enable the smallest sound made at one focal point to be clearly heard at the other focal point, many feet away.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The design of the whispering gallery allows even the faintest sounds to travel across the dome, making it a unique architectural feature.

Synonyms

resonating chamber
vswhispering gallery
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A hollow space that makes sound or microwaves stronger, like inside a guitar and microwave oven

focuses on clear hearing between distant points caused by the structure's acoustics
whispering dome
vswhispering gallery
  • Specialized
9.9

A space under a dome where a soft sound made in one spot reaches another spot clearly

is the other architectural label rather than the first naming option

Surface Forms

whispering gallery singular
whispering galleries plural

Morphology

whispering + gallery

The phrase is a straightforward modifier + noun composition: 'whispering' (quiet sound) describes the type of 'gallery' (a passage or hall), so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a gallery where whispering or quiet sounds occur or can be heard. This follows a common, cross-linguistic descriptive pattern and does not rely on idiomatic or metaphorical shift, so the meaning is directly accessible.

Etymology

The name whispering gallery comes from old buildings with round domes where a soft voice at one spot travels along the curved wall and can be heard clearly far away. Because the sound seems to 'whisper' around the dome and across the gallery, the name now means a place under a dome where quiet speech reaches listeners at distant points.