caisson a lighthouse mounted on a large foundation.
cupola the domed top of a lighthouse.
diaphone fog signal a two-tone fog signal, making a sound similar to breeeeeooooooo.
gallery a railed walkway around a lantern.
keeper a person who maintains and/or lives in a lighthouse, all but abolished by 1990.
lamp the light inside the lens.
lamp changer a device that automatically changes a worn-out lightbulb.
lantern collective term for the lamp, the lens, and their containment.
lens a Fresnel lens used to magnify and concentrate light.
lightship a ship fitted with lanterns and anchored permanently at sea to serve as a floating lighthouse.
range lights paired towers consisting of a short lighthouse at the entrance to a harbor or a channel, and a distant, taller lighthouse; a safe course is followed by keeping the lights one atop the other.
screwpile a lighthouse with legs of huge screws that are twisted into the ground as anchors.
skeleton light a lighthouse with an open framework tower.
walkway on a large lighthouse, a railed walkway above the gallery that gives access for cleaning the outside of the lantern glass.
RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS
abat-voix a sound reflector above the pulpit.
abbey a monastery or convent.
agnus dei any artwork representing a lamb that is emblematic of Christ.
aguilla the obelisk or spire of a church tower.
almariol a storage room or niche for ecclesiastical vestments. Also known as an ambry.
almehrabh a niche in an Arabian mosque that marks the direction of Mecca.
almemar in a synagogue, a desk on which the Torah rests while being read from to the congregation.
altar the elevated table or structure used for religious offerings or rites.
altar frontal an ornamental hanging or panel fronting the altar.
altar of repose a repository or niche where the Host is kept from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday in a Roman Catholic church.
altarpiece above and behind the altar, an ornamental painting or screen or sculpture.
altar screen a decorative partition separating the altar from the space behind.
altar slab a stone or slab forming the top of an altar.
ambry a repository or niche for sacraments.
ambulatory an aisle or walkway around the apse of a church.
ambulatory church a church with a dome surrounded on three sides by aisles.
antechapel an entrance, porch, or vestibule in front of a chapel.
antenave a porch leading into the nave of a church.
antepodium behind the dais in a choir, seating for the clergy.
apostolaeum any church dedicated to or named after an apostle.
apse the semicylindrical or semidomed space or room housing the altar.
archiepiscopal cross a cross with two transverse arms, the shorter one on top, the longer one near the center.
ark in a synagogue, an ornamental repository for the scrolls of the Torah.
armariolum in a cathedral or monastic church, a wardrobe for keeping vestments.
aspersorium a font for holy water.
aureole the glory or radiance surrounding the head of a sacred figure.
baptistery a building or portion of a building where baptisms are held.
basilica an elongated church with a central high nave with clerestory, side aisles, and a semicircular apse.
bell canopy a gable roof that shelters a bell.
bell cot a small belfry astride the ridge of a roof.
bell gable a roof-ridge turret holding one or more bells.
bellhouse a tower holding a bell. belltower any tall structure containing a bell. benitier a basin for holy water.
bestiary in a medieval church, a group of painted or sculpted creatures.
bethel a chapel for seamen.
box pew a pew enclosed by a high back and sides.
calvary sculptures, often life-size, depicting the Crucifixion.
Calvary cross a Latin cross set on three steps. cantoria a choir gallery. carrel a pew in a monastery.
catacumba the atrium or courtyard of a basilican church.
cathedral the home church of a bishop.
Catherine wheel window a large circular, ornamental window at the front of many cathedrals. Also known as a rose window.
Celtic cross a tall cross with short horizontal arms partially enclosed by a circle.
chatya a Buddhist sanctuary.
chancel the sanctuary of a church, or the space near the altar reserved for the clergy and choir.
chancel arch in some churches, an arch that divides the chancel from the nave.
chancel screen a screen separating the chancel from the nave.
chapel a small church or parish or a room or building set apart for worship within a school, college, hospital, or other institution. Also, an area within a church set aside for private prayer.
chapel royal the chapel of a royal palace or castle.
chevet an apse surrounded by an ambulatory.
choir between the nave and the sanctuary, the area occupied by the clergy and choir.
choir loft a balcony occupied by the choir.
choir stall seating for choir and clergy.
choraula a rehearsal room for the choir.
chrismatory a niche holding the consecrated oil for baptism near the font.
church stile an old term for pulpit.
cimeliarch a treasury where holy objects and other valuables are stored in a church.
clausura the part of a monastery or convent occupied by the monks or nuns and closed to the public.
clerestory the windowed, upper portion of the nave, transepts, and choir; any upper wall windowed for light and ventilation.
cloister a place devoted to religious seclusion, as a monastery or convent. Also, a covered walk surrounding an open courtyard, used as a link between buildings in a monastery.
cloister garth the courtyard surrounded by a cloister.
confessional the private booth where a priest sits and listens to confessions from the penitent.
convent a community of nuns; a nunnery.
credence near the altar, a shelf or stand for holding holy objects, service books, and other objects.
crowde a cellar or crypt of a church.
cruciform in the shape of a cross, as many Gothic churches whose nave, chancel, and apse intersect with the transepts.
crypt an underground or partially underground level containing separate chapels or, sometimes, tombs.
double monastery a monastery and a convent sharing the same church and authority.
duomo an Italian cathedral.
east end where the main altar is located, a tradition of medieval churches.
ecclesiology the study of the decoration and architecture of churches.