Meanings
plural alcoves
- architectureA small recessed area set off from a larger room.
It was very different from such bookstores as he had been accustomed to patronize. Two stories of the old house had been thrown into one: the lower space was divided into little alcoves; above, a gallery ran round the wall, which carried books to the ceiling.
1919, Christopher Morley, “The Haunted Bookshop”, in The Haunted Bookshop, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 4 - countableThe geographical and geological term for a steep-sided hollow in the side of an exposed rock face or cliff of a homogeneous rock type, that was water eroded.
present singular third person alcoves · participle present alcoving · participle past alcoved · past alcoved
- raretransitiveTo furnish (something) with an alcove or to form an alcovelike recess.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Arabicالقُبَّة“vault, chamber with vaulted roof”
- Portuguesealcova
- Spanishalcoba
- Frenchalcôve
- Englishalcove
From French alcôve, from Spanish alcoba or Portuguese alcova, from Arabic القُبَّة (al-qubba, “vault, chamber with vaulted roof”). Doublet of qubba.
More words from French, Spanish, Portuguese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ни́ша, кът
- ни́ша (níša)small recessed area
- кът (kăt)small recessed area
Catalan fornícula
- fornículasmall recessed area
Chinese Mandarin 壁龕 /壁龛
- 壁龕 /壁龛 (bìkān)small recessed area
Czech výklenek, alkovna
- výkleneksmall recessed area
- alkovnasmall recessed area
Danish alkove, niche
- alkovesmall recessed area
- nichesmall recessed area
Dutch alkoof
- alkoofsmall recessed area
Esperanto alkovo
- alkovosmall recessed area
Finnish alkovi
- alkovismall recessed area
French alcôve
- alcôvesmall recessed area
German Alkoven, Alkov
- Alkovensmall recessed area
- Alkovsmall recessed area
- Alkovesmall recessed area
Greek κόγχη
- κόγχη (kónchi)small recessed area
Hebrew גֻּמְחָה
- גֻּמְחָהsmall recessed area
Hungarian hálófülke, alkóv
- hálófülkesmall recessed area
- alkóvsmall recessed area
- falmélyedéssmall recessed area
Italian alcova, talamo
- alcovasmall recessed area
- talamosmall recessed area
- camera da lettosmall recessed area
Japanese 壁龕
- 壁龕 (hekigan)small recessed area
Korean 반침
- 반침 (banchim)small recessed area
Polish nisza, wnęka
- niszasmall recessed area
- wnękasmall recessed area
- alkowasmall recessed area
Portuguese alcova
- alcovasmall recessed area
Russian ни́ша, алько́в
- ни́ша (níša)small recessed area
- алько́в (alʹkóv)small recessed area
Scottish Gaelic pùball
- pùballsmall recessed area
Spanish hornacina
- hornacinasmall recessed area
Swedish alkov
- alkovsmall recessed area
Ukrainian алько́в, ні́ша
- алько́в (alʹkóv)small recessed area
- ні́ша (níša)small recessed area
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
alcove. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alcove
“alcove.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alcove. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alcove,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alcove.
Source: alcove on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.