Long wooden benches in a church where congregation members sit during services, usually arranged in rows facing the altar.
From Middle French 'puie' and Old French 'puée,' meaning 'a raised seat,' possibly derived from Latin 'podium.' The word entered English church architecture terminology in medieval times.
Pews are where class divisions lived in churches—for centuries, wealthy families rented the best pews in front while poor people stood in back, creating a physical map of social hierarchy even in spaces supposedly devoted to spiritual equality.
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