parclose means A partition that closes off part of a building; especially one that separates an altar or chapel from the rest of a church. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
parclose is pronounced /ˈpɑːkləʊz/.
Why “parclose” is a great word
PARCLOSE — [Noun] A partition or screen, especially one enclosing a side chapel or separating an altar from the main body of a church. From Middle English parclose, from Middle French parclose ("end, enclosure"), the feminine form of the past participle of parclore ("to enclose fully"), from Latin per- ("thoroughly") and claudere ("to close"). Unlike a rood screen, which definitively bisects nave from chancel under a crucifix, or a jubé, an ornate choir loft for ceremony, a parclose is a quieter barrier of seclusion. It is the carved oak lattice casting diamond shadows upon a chantry floor, the stone tracery muffling a private prayer, the iron grille framing a side-altar's flickering light—a physical whisper of sacred space within sacred space, carving small silences from the vast communal whole.
Etymology
From Middle English parclose, perclose, from Old French parclos, perclose and others, Middle French parclose (“end, enclosure”), noun use of past participle of parclore (“to enclose”).
noun
- A partition that closes off part of a building; especially one that separates an altar or chapel from the rest of a church.“The two eastern bays of this aisle form the Golafre chapel and are inclosed by modern parcloses of oak[…]”
- An enclosed area, especially one separated from the main body of a building by a screen or partition.“Thenne syr Percyual aspyed that therin was a man or a woman / for the vysage was couerd / thenne he left of his lokyng and herd his seruyse / And whan hit came to the sacrynge / he that lay within that Percloos dressid hym vp and vncouerd his heede / and thenne hym besemed a passynge old man / and he had a crowne of gold vpon his hede
"Then Sir Percivale espied that therein was a man or a woman, f”