from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Atrium \A"tri*um\, n.; pl. {Atria}. [L., the fore court of a
Roman house.]
1. (Arch.)
(a) A square hall lighted from above, into which rooms
open at one or more levels.
(b) An open court with a porch or gallery around three or
more sides; especially at the entrance of a basilica
or other church. The name was extended in the Middle
Ages to the open churchyard or cemetery.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Anat.) The main part of either auricle of the heart as
distinct from the auricular appendix. Also, the whole
articular portion of the heart.
[1913 Webster]
3. (Zool.) A cavity in ascidians into which the intestine and
generative ducts open, and which also receives the water
from the gills. See {Ascidioidea}.
[1913 Webster]
4. (Anat.) A cavity, entrance, or passage; as, the atrium, or
atrial cavity, in the body wall of the amphioxus; an
atrium of the infundibula of the lungs, etc.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]