Meanings
plural hagioscopes
- architectureA small opening in an interior wall of a church, enabling those in the transept to view the high altar.
It appears that Drs. Jones and Freeman account for the arch over the hagioscope at St. David's by saying, though without citing authorities, that there was a door there originally.
1886, Miss M. A. R. Tucker, “St. David's”, in Walford's Antiquarian: A Magazine & Bibliographical ReviewSynonyms: leper's squint, lychnoscope, squint
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA small opening in an interior wall of a church, enabling those in the transept to view the high altar.
Origin
From hagio- (“saint”) + -scope (“viewing instrument”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
hagioscope. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagioscope
“hagioscope.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagioscope. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hagioscope,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hagioscope.
Source: hagioscope on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.