rear-vault Arch.
Also rere-.
[f. rear-, after F. arrière-voussure.]
The vaulted space connecting an arched window- or door-head with the arch in the inner face of the wall.
| 1844 Willis Archit. Nomencl. §81 We may therefore call the said vault, rib, and shaft, the rear-vault, rear-rib, and rear shaft of the window or door. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th C. ii. 46 These window groups being internally set back into a single recessed panel, and surmounted by a single rear-vault. |