atrium English · revision 1115

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈeɪ.tɹi.əm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|atrium|t=central court or first room of a house]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) of uncertain origin.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Varro said it was Etruscan;^(Etymonline) Watkins connects it with a root meaning “fire”, from the smoke escaping from the hearth,^(Etymonline) and de Vaan prefers a root meaning “fireplace”, though he notes there is no independent evidence that the room held the hearth.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hall or court; in the OED, a covered court or portico in front of the main doors of a church (1577).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word names the central hall of an ancient Roman house, open to the sky in the middle.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Etymonline) The anatomical sense, either of the upper chambers of the heart, is recorded from 1870.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) In a modern house it meant a central glassed-in hall (1864),^(OED 1989) and from 1967 a skylit central court rising through several storeys of a public building.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1577 – a hall or court; a church forecourt.^(Barnhart 1995)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1864 – a central hall in a modern house.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1870 – a chamber of the heart.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1967 – a skylit court in a public building.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A skylit central court in a modern building, often several storeys high.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The central room or open court of an ancient Roman house.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A forecourt surrounded by [[portico|alt=porticoes]], in front of an early Christian church.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)

+ # Either of the upper chambers of the [[heart]], which receive blood from the veins and pump it into a [[ventricle]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Any body cavity or chamber.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[atrial]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ventricle]]

+ * [[auricle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Merriam-Webster gives ''atria'' and ''atriums'' as plurals, with ''atriums'' usual for buildings.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}