noun
a style of architecture developed in Italy and western Europe between the Roman and the Gothic styles after 1000 AD; characterized by round arches and vaults and by the substitution of piers for columns and profuse ornament and arcades
• Syn: ↑Romanesque
• Hypernyms: ↑architectural style, ↑style of architecture, ↑type of architecture
• Hyponyms: ↑Norman architecture
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noun or romanesque styleUsage: usually capitalized R
: the architecture or style that developed in Italy and various parts of western Europe between the periods of the Roman and the Gothic styles:
a. : a continuation before A.D. 1000 of the Early Christian style in unvaulted basilican churches marked by the development of the cruciform plan with choirs and transepts without sculptural treatment
b. : any of several advanced and differentiated styles (as Lombard, Norman, Rhenish architecture) having as common features the use of the round arch and vault with narrowing and heightening of the nave, the substitution for columns of piers often with engaged shafts, the decorative use of arcades and colonnettes, and profuse carved ornament especially on capitals, stringcourses, and the moldings of doorways — see architecture table
Useful english dictionary. 2012.