'Barrel vault' definitions:

Definition of 'barrel vault'

From: WordNet
noun
The simplest form of vault; a single continuous arch

Definition of 'Barrel vault'

From: GCIDE
  • Barrel \Bar"rel\ (b[a^]r"r[e^]l), n.[OE. barel, F. baril, prob. fr. barre bar. Cf. Barricade.]
  • 1. A round vessel or cask, of greater length than breadth, and bulging in the middle, made of staves bound with hoops, and having flat ends or heads; as, a cracker barrel. Sometimes applied to a similar cylindrical container made of metal, usually called a drum. [1913 Webster +PJC]
  • 2. The quantity which constitutes a full barrel. This varies for different articles and also in different places for the same article, being regulated by custom or by law. A barrel of wine is 311/2 gallons; a barrel of flour is 196 pounds. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A solid drum, or a hollow cylinder or case; as, the barrel of a windlass; the barrel of a watch, within which the spring is coiled. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. A metallic tube, as of a gun, from which a projectile is discharged. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A jar. [Obs.] --1 Kings xvii. 12. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. (Zool.) The hollow basal part of a feather. [1913 Webster]
  • Barrel bulk (Com.), a measure equal to five cubic feet, used in estimating capacity, as of a vessel for freight.
  • Barrel drain (Arch.), a drain in the form of a cylindrical tube.
  • Barrel of a boiler, the cylindrical part of a boiler, containing the flues.
  • Barrel of the ear (Anat.), the tympanum, or tympanic cavity.
  • Barrel organ, an instrument for producing music by the action of a revolving cylinder.
  • Barrel vault. See under Vault. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'Barrel vault'

From: GCIDE
  • Vault \Vault\ (v[add]lt; see Note, below), n. [OE. voute, OF. voute, volte, F. vo[^u]te, LL. volta, for voluta, volutio, fr. L. volvere, volutum, to roll, to turn about. See Voluble, and cf. Vault a leap, Volt a turn, Volute.] [1913 Webster]
  • 1. (Arch.) An arched structure of masonry, forming a ceiling or canopy. [1913 Webster]
  • The long-drawn aisle and fretted vault. --Gray. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. An arched apartment; especially, a subterranean room, used for storing articles, for a prison, for interment, or the like; a cell; a cellar. "Charnel vaults." --Milton. [1913 Webster]
  • The silent vaults of death. --Sandys. [1913 Webster]
  • To banish rats that haunt our vault. --Swift. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. The canopy of heaven; the sky. [1913 Webster]
  • That heaven's vault should crack. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. [F. volte, It. volta, originally, a turn, and the same word as volta an arch. See the Etymology above.] A leap or bound. Specifically: (a) (Man.) The bound or leap of a horse; a curvet. (b) A leap by aid of the hands, or of a pole, springboard, or the like. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: The l in this word was formerly often suppressed in pronunciation. [1913 Webster]
  • Barrel vault, Cradle vault, Cylindrical vault, or Wagon vault (Arch.), a kind of vault having two parallel abutments, and the same section or profile at all points. It may be rampant, as over a staircase (see {Rampant vault}, under Rampant), or curved in plan, as around the apse of a church.
  • Coved vault. (Arch.) See under 1st Cove, v. t.
  • Groined vault (Arch.), a vault having groins, that is, one in which different cylindrical surfaces intersect one another, as distinguished from a barrel, or wagon, vault.
  • Rampant vault. (Arch.) See under Rampant.
  • Ribbed vault (Arch.), a vault differing from others in having solid ribs which bear the weight of the vaulted surface. True Gothic vaults are of this character.
  • Vault light, a partly glazed plate inserted in a pavement or ceiling to admit light to a vault below. [1913 Webster]