Dictionary

narthex en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈnɑːθɛks/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /ˈnɑɹθɛks/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Ancient Greek νάρθηξ (nárthēx, “giant fennel; casket”), a Pre-Greek word, as suggested by the suffix. See also νάρδος (nárdos, “nard”).

Meanings

1. A western vestibule leading to the nave in some Christian churches.
   • we were in the antechamber, called the narthex, which runs across the front of any Byzantine church [...]. 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 637:
   • “Cinco,” Marco bellowed now, hurrying across the narthex to give him a hearty handshake, which Cinco returned without enthusiasm. 2012, Melissa F. Miller, chapter 42, in Irretrievably Broken (The Sasha McCandless Series), e-book edition, volume 1, Brown Street Books, →ISBN, page 11642:
   • One of these was Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi, [...] who had now conceived ambitious plans for paintings to decorate the entire narthex, or entrance porch, of Avignon's ancient cathedral. 2007, Edwin Mullins, The Popes of Avignon, Blue Bridge, published 2008, page 87:

Forms

Deriveds

endonarthex · exonarthex

Translations (26)

sv narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · fr narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · bg преддверие (vestibule leading to the nave) · uk притво́р (vestibule leading to the nave) · cs narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · no narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · ru на́ртекса (vestibule leading to the nave) · it nartece (vestibule leading to the nave) · hy գավիթ (vestibule leading to the nave) · hu narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · mk предво́рие (vestibule leading to the nave) · pt nártex (vestibule leading to the nave) · nl narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · uk бабинець (vestibule leading to the nave) · fi eteishalli (vestibule leading to the nave) · de Rute (vestibule leading to the nave) · es nártex (vestibule leading to the nave) · ru притво́р (vestibule leading to the nave) · de Narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · ca nàrtex (vestibule leading to the nave) · pl narteks (vestibule leading to the nave) · el νάρθηκας (vestibule leading to the nave) · mk на́ртекс (vestibule leading to the nave) · mk при́прата (vestibule leading to the nave) · da narthex (vestibule leading to the nave) · fi nartheks (vestibule leading to the nave)