Codon (Gr. κώδων). A bell; the bell of a trumpet; a trumpet with a bell-mouth.
Cod-piece (from O. E. “cod,” a pillow or stuffed cushion; Fr. braguette); introduced temp. Henry VIII. An appendage to the taces over the os pubis, copied in the armour of the period. It continued in use to the end of Elizabeth’s reign.
Cœlum. In Architecture, that part of a building which was placed over any other part, and so a ceiling, or soffit.
Cœmeterium, Cemetery, Chr. (κοιμητήριον, from κοιμάω, i. e. a sleeping-place; Lat dormitorium). This term is an exclusively Christian one; it signifies a field of rest or refuge; the last resting-place of man. (See Hypogæum.)
Cœna (from Sanscr. khad-, to eat). The principal meal among the Romans, consisting of several courses termed respectively prima, altera or secunda, tertia, quarta cœna. The hour at which the cœna took place varied with the habits of the master of the house, but it was usually about four or five o’clock. It was the third meal of the day, being preceded by the jentaculum (breakfast), and the merenda or prandium (luncheon or early dinner). The corresponding Greek meal was called deipnon, which closed with a libation to Zeus; after which the drinking party that remained was called Symposium. (See Last Supper.)
Cœnaculum. In early times this term was used for the Triclinium (q.v.); later on it came to mean the upper stories of houses inhabited by the poor, our attic or garret. In the plural, cœnacula denotes the whole suite of rooms on the upper story of a house, and cœnacula meritoria such apartments let out on hire.
Cœnatio, like cœnaculum, a dining-room situated upstairs. It thus differed from the Triclinium (q.v.), which was a dining-room on the ground floor; the former was used in winter, the latter in summer. The cœnatio, or diæta, was a very magnificent apartment. Nero had one in his golden palace, constructed like a theatre, with a change of scenery for every course.
Cœnatoria, Cœnatoriæ Vestes. The garments worn by the Romans at the dinner-table.
Cœnobium (κοινό-βιον, i. e. a life in common). A monastery; a convent of monks who lived in common.
Cœur, Carreau, Pique, and Trèfle. The four French suits of cards, corresponding with our Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs, probably introduced in the reign of Charles VII. of France (15th century). (Taylor.) Cœur is sometimes derived from Chœur. (See Coppe and Chatrang.)