/pri del"euh/ ; It. /prdde del"lah/ , n. , pl. predelle /-lee/ ; It. /-le/ . Fine Arts.
the base of an altarpiece, often decorated with small paintings or reliefs.
[ 1840-50; predel, * pretel, deriv. of * pret- board bret- ( > OHG brët (G Brett ), OE, OS bred board, plank; akin to BOARD); conformed in It to the dim. suffix -ella -ELLE ]