Peristyle

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ˈpɛɹɪstaɪl/
• US IPA: /ˈpɛɹəstaɪl/

Origin

From French péristyle, from Classical Latin peristȳlum, peristȳlium, from Ancient Greek περιστύλιον, περίστυλον, noun use of the neuter form of περίστυλος ("surrounded by columns"), from περί + στῦλος (stūlos, "pillar").

Full definition of peristyle

Noun

1. colonnade surrounding a courtyard, temple, etc.
• 1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (Canongate 2006), page 143:One cannot, for example, see the Temple of Æsculapius as one stands in the fine open courtyard as it was intended one should do; the interstices on that side of the peristyle have been blocked by Venetian Gothic buildings.
2. A courtyard; the space surrounded by a colonnade.
3. A porch surrounded by columns.