Meanings
plural iconostases · plural iconostaseis · alternative iconstasis
- Eastern OrthodoxyA wall of icons between the sanctuary and the nave in an Eastern Orthodox church.
The altar was hidden behind an Iconostasis. The church was looked after by an old sacristan who lived in a cottage on the shore of the lake.
1932, Maurice Baring, chapter 10, in Friday's Business1 more example
The golden glitter on the crimson background of the iconostasis, the gilt ornaments of the icons, the silver of the chandeliers and candlesticks, the flagstones of the floor, the mats, the banners above the choir, the steps of the ambo, the ancient books black with age, the cassocks and surplices, were all inundated with light.
1918 [1878], chapter 3, in Aylmer and Louise Maude, transl., Anna Karenina, Cambridge: Oxford University Press, translation of Анна Каренина (Anna Karenina) by Leo Tolstoy, →OCLC, part 5, page 12
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Medieval Greekεἰκονόστασις
- Englishiconostasis
Borrowed from Medieval Greek εἰκονόστασις (eikonóstasis), from εἰκών (eikṓn, “icon”) + στάσις (stásis, “fixture”).
More words from Medieval Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic حَاجِز الأَيْقُونِيّ
- حَاجِز الأَيْقُونِيّ (ḥājiz al-ʔayqūniyy)a wall of icons
Basque ikonostasi
- ikonostasia wall of icons
Bulgarian иконоста́с
- иконоста́с (ikonostás)a wall of icons
Catalan iconòstasi
- iconòstasia wall of icons
Chinese Mandarin 聖像壁 /圣像壁, 聖障 /圣障
- 聖像壁 /圣像壁 (shèngxiàngbì)a wall of icons
- 聖障 /圣障 (shèngzhàng)a wall of icons
Czech ikonostas
- ikonostasa wall of icons
Danish ikonostase
- ikonostasea wall of icons
Dutch iconostase
- iconostasea wall of icons
Esperanto ikonostazo
- ikonostazoa wall of icons
Estonian ikonostaas
- ikonostaasa wall of icons
Finnish ikonostaasi
- ikonostaasia wall of icons
French iconostase
- iconostasea wall of icons
German Ikonostase
- Ikonostasea wall of icons
Greek εικονοστάσιο
- εικονοστάσιο (eikonostásio)a wall of icons
Hebrew איקונוסטאזיס
- איקונוסטאזיס (aykonostazis)a wall of icons
Hungarian ikonosztáz
- ikonosztáza wall of icons
Irish íocónastáis
- íocónastáisa wall of icons
Italian iconostasi
- iconostasia wall of icons
Japanese イコノスタシス
- イコノスタシス (ikonosutashisu)a wall of icons
Korean 성화벽
- 성화벽 (seonghwabyeok)a wall of icons
Latvian ikonostass
- ikonostassa wall of icons
Lithuanian ikonostasas
- ikonostasasa wall of icons
Norwegian Bokmål ikonostasis
- ikonostasisa wall of icons
Polish ikonostas
- ikonostasa wall of icons
Portuguese iconóstase
- iconóstasea wall of icons
Romanian iconostas, tâmplă
- iconostasa wall of icons
- tâmplăa wall of icons
- catapeteasmăa wall of icons
Russian иконоста́с
- иконоста́с (ikonostás)a wall of icons
Slovak ikonostas
- ikonostasa wall of icons
Spanish iconostasio
- iconostasioa wall of icons
Swedish ikonostas
- ikonostasa wall of icons
Turkish ikonostas
- ikonostasa wall of icons
Ukrainian іконоста́с
- іконоста́с (ikonostás)a wall of icons
Cite this entry
iconostasis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iconostasis
“iconostasis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iconostasis. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “iconostasis,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iconostasis.
Source: iconostasis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.