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atrium
atrium , term for an interior court in Roman domestic architecture and also for a type of entrance court in early Christian churches. The Roman atrium was an unroofed or partially roofed area with rooms opening from it. In early times its center held a cooking hearth. After the 2d cent. BC, when the hearth was placed elsewhere, the center of the atrium held a tank (impluvium) to receive rainwater falling through the opening, which also furnished light to the surrounding rooms. In more luxurious and complex Roman dwellings, the private apartments had a court of their own, called the peristyle, and the atrium served merely as a semipublic reception hall. The ruins of Pompeii contain remains of atria in their various forms. In early Christian churches, the atrium was a large arcaded or colonnaded open court, serving as a general meeting place, in front of the church itself, with a fountain used for ablutions in its center. The basilican churches of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan and San Clemente in Rome have noteworthy atria. This type of large forecourt is also a characteristic element of the Muslim mosque. The term also refers to a modern building's central court, an often soaring interior space with a large skylight. Creating a flood of natural light and usually filled with plants, the feature has become practically ubiquitous in contemporary architecture; it is used predominantly in commercial buildings. |
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"atrium." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "atrium." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-atrium.html "atrium." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium (pl. atria).
1. Small court or principal room in a Roman house, called cavaedium or cavum aedium, usually surrounded by a roofed area, supported on columns, disposed with the compluvium or roofless opening in the centre. Rainwater was channelled into an impluvium, cistern, pool, or tank set under the opening in the floor. Types of domestic atrium include:atrium Corinthium: with more than four columns (i.e. a peristyle) supporting the edge of the compluvium;atrium displuvatium: with the roof sloping away from the compluvium, the rain being carried away by means of gutters and pipes;atrium testudinatum: with no compluvium, but crowned with an arched vault (testudo);atrium tetrastylum: with four columns, one at each corner supporting the compluvium;atrium Tuscanicum: insignificant and astylar with the roof carried on two beams with two short beams or trimmers. 2. Open court surrounded by a roofed arcaded or colonnaded walk, laid out before the west end of an Early Christian, Byzantine or medieval church, sometimes planted with trees, and often with a fountain in the centre. An interesting survival is the atrium of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan (c.1140). In this sense, the atrium was the forerunner of the cloister. 3. Top-lit volume surrounded by several storeys, e.g. Portman's Hyatt Regency Hotel, Atlanta, GA (1967–71). Bibliography Blaser (1985); |
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "atrium." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "atrium." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-atrium.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "atrium." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-atrium.html |
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atrium
a·tri·um / ˈātrēəm/ • n. (pl. a·tri·a / ˈātrēə/ or a·tri·ums) 1. Archit. an open-roofed entrance hall or central court in an ancient Roman house. ∎ a central hall or court in a modern building, with rooms or galleries opening off it, often glass-covered. 2. Anat. each of the two upper cavities of the heart from which blood is passed to the ventricles. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the veins of the body; the left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary vein. Also called auricle. DERIVATIVES: a·tri·al / ˈātrēəl/ adj. |
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"atrium." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "atrium." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-atrium.html "atrium." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium
1. (or auricle) A chamber of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it by powerful muscular contraction into the ventricle(s). Fish have a single atrium but all other vertebrates have two. 2. Any of various cavities or chambers in animals, such as the chamber surrounding the gill slits of the lancelet and other invertebrate chordates. |
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"atrium." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "atrium." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-atrium.html "atrium." A Dictionary of Biology. 2004. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O6-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium (ay-tri-ŭm) n. (pl. atria)
1. either of the two upper chambers of the heart. The left atrium receives arterial blood from the lungs via the pulmonary artery; the right atrium receives venous blood from the venae cavae. See also auricle. 2. any of various anatomical chambers into which one or more cavities open. —atrial adj. |
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"atrium." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "atrium." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-atrium.html "atrium." A Dictionary of Nursing. 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O62-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium
1. In Urochordata and Cephalochordata, a chamber surrounding the pharyngeal region which receives water from the pharyngeal clefts and opens to the exterior through an atrial opening (sometimes called an atriopore). 2. See AURICLE. |
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MICHAEL ALLABY. "atrium." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MICHAEL ALLABY. "atrium." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-atrium.html MICHAEL ALLABY. "atrium." A Dictionary of Zoology. 1999. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O8-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium. The main court in a Roman house. The word is also used of the forecourt attached to early Christian churches; it usually consisted of a colonnaded quadrangle with a fountain in the middle.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-atrium.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium central court of Roman house XVII; (anat.) chamber of an organ of the body XIX. — L. ātrium.
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T. F. HOAD. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-atrium.html T. F. HOAD. "atrium." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-atrium.html |
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atrium
atrium
•columbium
•erbium, terbium, ytterbium
•scandium • compendium
•palladium, radium, stadium, vanadium
•medium, tedium
•cryptosporidium, cymbidium, idiom, iridium, rubidium
•indium
•exordium, Gordium, rutherfordium
•odeum, odium, plasmodium, podium, sodium
•allium, gallium, pallium, thallium, valium
•berkelium, epithelium, helium, nobelium, Sealyham
•beryllium, cilium, psyllium, trillium
•linoleum, petroleum
•thulium • cadmium
•epithalamium, prothalamium
•gelsemium, premium
•chromium, encomium
•holmium • fermium
•biennium, millennium
•cranium, geranium, germanium, Herculaneum, titanium, uranium
•helenium, proscenium, rhenium, ruthenium, selenium
•actinium, aluminium, condominium, delphinium
•ammonium, euphonium, harmonium, pandemonium, pelargonium, plutonium, polonium, zirconium
•neptunium
•europium, opium
•aquarium, armamentarium, barium, caldarium, cinerarium, columbarium, dolphinarium, frigidarium, herbarium, honorarium, planetarium, rosarium, sanitarium, solarium, sudarium, tepidarium, terrarium, vivarium
•atrium
•delirium, Miriam
•equilibrium, Librium
•yttrium
•auditorium, ciborium, conservatorium, crematorium, emporium, moratorium, sanatorium, scriptorium, sudatorium, vomitorium
•opprobrium
•cerium, imperium, magisterium
•curium, tellurium
•potassium • axiom • calcium
•francium • lawrencium • americium
•Latium, solatium
•lutetium, technetium
•Byzantium • strontium • consortium
•protium • promethium • lithium
•alluvium, effluvium
•requiem • colloquium • gymnasium
•caesium (US cesium), magnesium, trapezium
•Elysium • symposium
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"atrium." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "atrium." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-atrium.html "atrium." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-atrium.html |
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