baldachin Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun ornamented canopy supported by columns or suspended from a roof or projected from a wall (as over an altar)

WordNet

Bal"da*chin noun
Etymology
LL. baldachinus, baldechinus, a canopy of rich silk carried over the host; fr. Bagdad, It. Baldacco, a city in Turkish Asia from whence these rich silks came: cf. It. baldacchino. Cf. Baudekin.
Definitions
  1. A rich brocade; baudekin. Obs.
  2. (Arch.) A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall; generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in St. Peter's.
  3. A portable canopy borne over shrines, etc., in procession. Written also baldachino, baldaquin, etc.

Webster 1913