colonnade

/ˈkɑləˌneɪd/

Other forms: colonnades

A colonnade is a row of tall columns that support a building or a roof. You might see a colonnade at the front of a museum.

Ancient Greek and Roman buildings were often designed with a colonnade supporting them, and classically designed buildings still sometimes include a colonnade. Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Memorial is fronted by a colonnade, and even ordinary libraries, post offices, and museums might have them. The word was first used in the 1700s, and it comes from the French colonnade, with its Latin root of columna, or "pillar."

Definitions of colonnade

1. noun

   structure consisting of a row of evenly spaced columns
   types:

   peristyle

   a colonnade surrounding a building or enclosing a court

   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts
2. noun

   a structure composed of a series of arches supported by columns
   synonyms: arcade

   types:

   loggia

   a roofed arcade or gallery with open sides stretching along the front or side of a building; often at an upper level

   type of:

   construction, structure

   a thing constructed; a complex entity constructed of many parts