Adjacent Words

atrium definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any chamber that is connected to other chambers or passageways (especially one of the two upper chambers of the heart)
2: the central area in a building; open to the sky

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural atria; also atriums) Etymology: Latin Date: 1577 1. the central room of a Roman house 2. plural usually atriums a. a rectangular open patio around which a house is built b. a many-storied court in a building (as a hotel) usually with a skylight 3. [New Latin, from Latin] an anatomical cavity or passage; especially the chamber or either of the chambers of the heart that receives blood from the veins and forces it into the ventricle or ventricles — see heart illustration • atrial adjective

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. atriums or atria) 1 a the central court of an ancient Roman house. b a usu. skylit central court rising through several storeys with galleries and rooms opening off at each level. c esp. US (in a modern house) a central hall or glazed court with rooms opening off it. 2 Anat. a cavity in the body, esp. one of the two upper cavities of the heart, receiving blood from the veins. Derivatives: atrial adj. Etymology: L

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Atonement A*tone"ment, n. Day of Atonement (Jewish Antiq.), the only fast day of the Mosaic ritual, celebrated on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tisri), according to the rites described in Leviticus xvi. Atrium A"tri*um, n. (Anat.) A cavity, entrance, or passage; as, the atrium, or atrial cavity, in the body wall of the amphioxus; an atrium of the infundibula of the lungs, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Atrium A"tri*um, n.; pl. Atria. [L., the fore court of a Roman house.] 1. (Arch.) (a) A square hall lighted from above, into which rooms open at one or more levels. (b) An open court with a porch or gallery around three or more sides; especially at the entrance of a basilica or other church. The name was extended in the Middle Ages to the open churchyard or cemetery. 2. (Anat.) The main part of either auricle of the heart as distinct from the auricular appendix. Also, the whole articular portion of the heart. 3. (Zo["o]l.) A cavity in ascidians into which the intestine and generative ducts open, and which also receives the water from the gills. See Ascidioidea.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(atriums) An atrium is a part of a building such as a hotel or shopping centre, which extends up through several floors of the building and often has a glass roof. N-COUNT