Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as gradino.
Wiktionary
- n. A raised step near the base of a Christian altar.
- n. A series of carvings or paintings on this step, often forming a narrative.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The step, or raised secondary part, of an altar; a superaltar; hence, in Italian painting, a band or frieze of several pictures running along the front of a superaltar, or forming a border or frame at the foot of an altarpiece.
Etymologies
- Italian (Wiktionary)
Examples
“On the predella, which is divided into three parts, were once various scenes from the life of St. Nicholas of Bari, two of these are now to be found in the Vatican Gallery.”
“In the predella, which is full of charm, are three scenes in distemper -- the Presentation of the Virgin at the Temple, her Marriage, and the Adoration of the Magi.”
“In the predella, which is very beautiful, and painted by him likewise in distemper, he depicted S. Francis receiving the S.igmata; S. Anthony of Padua, who, in order to convert some heretics, performs the miracle of the Ass, which makes obeisance before the sacred Host; and S. Bernardino of S.ena, who is preaching to the people of his city on the Piazza de 'S.gnori.”
“But the most miraculous part of this panel is the predella, which is full of Friars of the said S. Catherine in the form of little figures.”
“In the predella, which is a rare work painted with little figures, there is in the centre the scene of S. Maria di Loreto being carried by the Angels from the regions of S.lavonia to the place where it now stands.”
“Ercole, then, who was a better draughtsman than Costa, painted, below the panel executed by Lorenzo in the Chapel of S. Vincenzio in S. Petronio, certain scenes in distemper with little figures, so well and with so beautiful and good a manner, that it is scarcely possible to see anything better, or to imagine the labour and diligence that Ercole put into the work: and thus the predella is a much better painting than the panel.”
“The "predella", divided into seven parts, represents the birth of Saint Dominic; the dream of Pope Honorius III., to whom the Saint appears in act of steadying the falling church; the meeting of the”
“Generally, I believe these views emphasize all of the aspects noted in our earlier considerations of the particular elements; the importance of the use colour, the addition of sculptured and painted imagery, the new location and form of the tabernacle, the new, more substantial form of the altar -- and, I might add, the thoughts about greenery, the moderate use of flowers, and the benefits of the predella and ciborium.”
“Were the forward altar longer, fully vested with an antependium, upon a predella and appointed with substantive altar cross and candles, this would be mitigated significantly.”
“The priest, deacon and subdeacon come before the altar, and ascend to the predella; the rubrics do not say that they genuflect before doing so.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘predella’.
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phrontistery - p
from phrontistery.info
pustule, purulence, pushful, purser, purpureal, putative, purpure, purpresture, purloin, purline, purlieu, purlicue and 1766 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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andystardust's Words
liminal, soporific, solipsism, calumny, sanguine, egregious, inimical, corpus, divulge, a fortiori, salutary, evanescence and 118 more...
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Wordie/Wordnik Curio Cabinet
Oddments culled from my "main" lists that belong in a display cabinet of their own, plus sundry other curiosities. :-)
zeugma, ziggurat, xiphoid, xeric, whizgigging, whangdoodle, viviparous, vivific, vinolent, verjuice, vellicate, velleity and 1193 more...
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Quenelles of Random Palavery
More randomly-garnered terms from the world of words that don't quite yet fit into my other lists.
Goddidit, barcelona, filigrain, good-natured, ill-natured, half-bit, endosome, underplaying, parotid, denormalization, sleightgeist, wheezing and 2334 more...
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Winter 12
intermezzo, mackintosh, meretricious, matin, ortolan, leveret, oubliette, muezzin, minaret, volute, rubescent, fulgurant and 69 more...
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Ecclesiastical Miscellanea
Obscure but not obsolete church words. I'm an Episcopal priest, so my knowledge is largely in the Anglican world, but I'm guessing there's a rich diversity of vocabulary particular to churches. Als...
pyx, aumbry, predella, cincture, nave, narthex, esonarthex, sacristy, vestry, alb, chasuble, croizer and 13 more...
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Girl With Curious Hair
divot, neurasthenic, exemplum, collate, concatenate, redolent, mastication, pidgin, endemic, demiurge, mythopoeic, recalcitrant and 52 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for predella.
brightshade 1 a step or platform on which an altar is placed.
2 a raised shelf above an altar.
• a painting or sculpture on this, typically forming an appendage to an altarpiece.
ORIGIN mid 19th cent.: from Italian, literally ‘stool.’
(New Oxford American Dictionary) Jun 7, 2009