reredos means A screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or images, akin to the iconostasis of the Eastern Churches. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 85 out of 100.
reredos is pronounced /ˈɹiə.dɒs/.
Why “reredos” is a great word
REREDOS — [Noun] An ornamental screen or decorative wall, often carved or painted, situated behind an altar or at the back of a large open fireplace. From Middle English reredos, from Anglo-Norman reredos, areredos, equivalent to the archaic combining form rere- ("rear") + Old French dos ("back"). Unlike a "retable," which is a shelf for altar ornaments, or an "iconostasis," which is a liturgical screen with doors, a reredos is the fixed, monumental backdrop itself. It is the gilded triptych catching candlelight, the soot-blackened stone of a hearth, or the faded fresco of a saint—a silent witness to the transitory acts of flame and faith performed before it.
noun
- A screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or images, akin to the iconostasis of the Eastern Churches.“Near-synonym: retable (often synonymous)”
- The back of an open fire-hearth, in medieval halls and in some later architecture inspired by them.