Băl'da-chĭn, n.

noun

(băl'da-kin), n. [It. baldacchino, Fr. & Sp. baldaquin, L. Lat. baldachinus, baldachinus, a canopy or rich silk carried over the host, from Baldach, for Bagdad, It. Baldacca, a city in Turkish Asia from whence these rich silks came.] (Arch.) (a.) A structure in form of a canopy, sometimes supported by columns, and sometimes suspended from the roof or projecting from the wall, generally placed over an altar; as, the baldachin in St. Peter’s church at Rome. (b.) A canopy or ornament over doors, thrones, &c. Gwilt.

An ornate Gothic baldachin with pointed arches and pinnacles shelters a raised tomb or altar. — Baldachin.