clerestory

/ˈklɪəɹ.stɔːɹi/

clerestory means the upper part of a wall containing windows to let in natural light to a building, especially in the nave, transept and choir of a church or cathedral. It carries an Arena rating of 1762, earned across 9 head-to-head judged battles.

clerestory is pronounced /ˈklɪəɹ.stɔːɹi/.

Why “clerestory” is a great word

A vertical band of windows set high in a wall, rising clear above an adjacent roof to flood the central space of a church or hall with daylight. From Middle English clerestory, from clere ('clear, lighted') + story ('storey, level of a building'), first attested in late Middle English (1375–1425). Unlike a skylight, which opens a direct aperture in the ceiling, or a transept, which names an entire cross-axial volume, the clerestory is a luminous gallery built into the fabric of the wall. It is a colonnade of light that stripes the stone floor below, the source of cool radiance glancing off vaulted ceilings, and the architect's ancient answer to enclosing vast space without surrendering it to gloom—a testament to the human urge to build structures of mass that aspire to contain nothing but illumination.

Etymology

From Middle English clerestory, from clere (“clear: light, lighted”) + story (“storey/story: level of a building”).

noun

The upper part of a wall containing windows to let in natural light to a building, especially in the nave, transept and choir of a church or cathedral.“Following these signs, he beheld three or four men with bent bows, leaning from the clerestory gallery.”