Definition of "hemicycle" [hem•i•cy•cle]

• A semicircle. (noun)
• A semicircular structure or arrangement. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Their courtly coffins are ranged in a kind of hemicycle, with the little coffins of the children that died before they came to the knowledge of their greatness."
• "It is a very short voting list (they are all in the 'hemicycle' voting on it as I write this), mostly concerning foreign affairs, so UKIP decided to abstain on most of the issues."
• "With a six-story spiraling ramp, the Guggenheim is a hallmark example of "hemicycle" design."