ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rotunda

n. countable
C1 Advanced US //ɹoʊˈtəndə// UK //ɹˈɒtʌndɐ// ro·tun·da

n. a large, round room with a dome on top. You often find these in big buildings like museums or government offices.

n. a large, circular room or hall, typically crowned by a dome. Often used in the context of public or institutional architecture.


SIMPLE

The museum's rotunda is decorated with beautiful marble.

CONTEXTUAL

Visitors gather in the central rotunda to admire the massive chandelier hanging from the glass ceiling.

COMPLEX

The architect designed the library's rotunda to serve as a grand entrance, ensuring that the circular space would provide a sense of scale and importance to the building's visitors.

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin rotunda, from rotundus (“round”). In the architectural sense, from Sancta Maria Rotunda (the name for a church in the Pantheon).

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