Meaning & use
lancet window
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Meaning
nouncountable
A tall narrow window with a pointed arch at the top, common in Gothic churches and cathedrals.
Grammar: Countable: one lancet window, two lancet windows. Often used in the plural when describing a row of them.
Patterns
- a lancet window in something
- a row of lancet windows
The old chapel has three lancet windows behind the altar.
Sunlight came through a single lancet window and fell on the stone floor.
Architects copied the lancet window in many nineteenth-century churches.
Word forms
| plural | lancet windows |
|---|
Common combinations
- a pair of lancet windows
- A pair of lancet windows lights the narrow side aisle.
- a pointed lancet window
- The pointed lancet window is the clearest sign of Gothic style.
- a lancet window above the door
- Above the door is a small lancet window with plain glass.
- Gothic lancet windows
- The cathedral is famous for its tall Gothic lancet windows.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pointed window
- A plain descriptive phrase; use it in general writing when you do not need the technical term.
- Gothic window
- Broader: it can mean any window in the Gothic style, not only the narrow pointed type.
Word family
- lancet noun
- A sharp pointed surgical knife; the window is named after its shape.
Commonly confused: lancet window or bay window?
lancet window vs bay window
A bay window sticks out from the wall and is usually rectangular; a lancet window is flat and pointed.
Practice
Which description best fits a lancet window?
Choose one answer.
A lancet window is defined by its tall narrow shape and pointed arch, so option 1 is correct. Option 2 describes a bay window, and option 3 describes a different, round opening.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lancet window”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.