Standard Lemma guide

altarpiece

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • äl′-tər-pēs′
  • US: /ˈɑl.təɹˌpis/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • ăl′-tər-pēs′
  • US: /ˈæl.təɹˌpis/
  • CMU ARPABET: AO1 L T ER0 P IY2 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

a work of art suspended above and behind an altar in a church

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a painted or carved screen placed above and behind an altar or communion table

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: reredos

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: screen

History

Etymology

From altar + piece.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: retaule — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Chinese Mandarin: 祭坛画 (jìtánhuà) — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Danish: altertavle — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Estonian: altarimaal — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Finnish: alttaritaulu — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Italian: pala d'altare — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Italian: ancona — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Portuguese: retábulo — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Russian: алта́рная карти́на (altárnaja kartína) — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Swedish: altartavla — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
  • Ukrainian: ві́вта́рна карти́на (vívtárna kartýna) — work of art suspended above and behind an altar
Real reading context

altarpiece in complete knowledge articles