baldacchins

Noun

baldacchin (plural baldacchins)

1. (archaic, uncountable) A rich, embroidered brocade used for clothing in the Middle Ages, the web being gold and the woof silk.
2. (countable) A canopy suspended over an altar or throne, originally made of this fabric; a ciborium.
   • Bernini had already provided the chief coup de théâtre of the basilica's interior, the monumental bronze canopy or baldachino over the high altar and tomb of St Peter.2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Penguin, published 2010, page 682
3. (countable) A building in the form of a canopy, or a crown supported by pillars for the covering of an altar; a canopy carried over the host in Roman Catholic countries.
   • BALDACHIN is a Building in form of a Canopy, or Crown ſupported by Pillars, often ſerving for the Covering of an Altar; Alſo a Canopy carried over the Hoſt in Popiſh Countries.[1721, N[athan] Bailey, “BALDACHIN”, in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary: […], London: […] E. Bell, J. Darby, […], →OCLC, column 1