velarium

noun

ve·lar·i·um vi-ˈler-ē-əm

plural velaria vi-ˈler-ē-ə

: an awning over an ancient Roman theater or amphitheater

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin vēlārium "curtain" + -ārium -ary entry 1

Note: The sole instance of the word in classical Latin (in a satire of Juvenal) refers to a curtain in a theater; the notion that velarium referred specifically to an awning in an amphitheater is an invention of post-classical antiquarians and lexicographers.

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of velarium was in 1834

See more words from the same year