Temple
A temple (from the Latin word templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. It is typically used for such buildings belonging to all faiths where a more specific term such as church, mosque or synagogue is not generally used in English. These include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism among religions with many modern followers, as well as other ancient religions such as Ancient Egyptian religion.
The form and function of temples is thus very variable, though they are often considered by believers to be in some sense the “house” of one or more deities. Typically offerings of some sort are made to the deity, and other rituals enacted, and a special group of clergy maintain, and operate the temple. The degree to which the whole population of believers can access the building varies significantly; often parts or even the whole main building can only be accessed by the clergy. Temples typically have a main building and a larger precinct, which may contain many other buildings.
The word comes from Ancient Rome, where a templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word “template”, a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out on the ground by the augur. Templa also became associated with the dwelling places of a god or gods. Despite the specific set of meanings associated with the word, it has now become widely used to describe a house of worship for any number of religions and is even used for time periods prior to the Romans.
Temple (noun)
A house of worship, especially
Temple (noun)
A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.
“The temple of Zeus was very large.”
Temple (noun)
A Orthodox synagogue.
“How often do you go to temple?”
Temple (noun)
A meeting house of the Oddfellows fraternity; its members.
Temple (noun)
Any place regarded as holding a religious presence.
Temple (noun)
Anything regarded as important or minutely cared for.
“My body is my temple.”
Temple (noun)
A pad to pad while the other fingers are clasped together.
Temple (noun)
The slightly flatter region, on either side of the head, back of the eye and forehead, above the zygomatic arch and in front of the ear.
Temple (noun)
Either of the sidepieces on a set of spectacles, extending backwards from the hinge toward the ears and, usually, turning down around them.
Temple (noun)
A contrivance used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.
Temple (verb)
To build a temple for; to appropriate a temple to; to temple a god
Church (noun)
A Christian house of worship; a building where religious services take place. from 9th c.
“There is a lovely little church in the valley.”
“This building used to be a church before being converted into a library.”
Church (noun)
Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community; Christianity. from 9th c.
“These worshippers make up the Church of Christ.”
Church (noun)
A local group of people who follow the same Christian religious beliefs, local or general. from 9th c.
Church (noun)
A particular denomination of Christianity. from 9th c.
“The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.”
Church (noun)
Christian worship held at a church; service. from 10th c.
Church (noun)
A (non-Christian) religion; a religious group. from 16th c.
“She goes to a Wiccan church down the road.”
Church (noun)
assembly
Church (verb)
To conduct a religious service for (a woman) after childbirth. from 15thc.
Church (verb)
To educate someone religiously, as in in a church.
Temple (noun)
a building devoted to the worship of a god or gods.
Temple (noun)
either of two successive religious buildings of the Jews in Jerusalem. The first (957–586 BC) was built by Solomon and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar; it contained the Ark of the Covenant. The second (515 BC–AD 70) was enlarged by Herod the Great from 20 BC and destroyed by the Romans during a Jewish revolt; all that remains is the Wailing Wall.
Temple (noun)
a synagogue.
Temple (noun)
a place of Christian public worship, especially a Protestant church in France.
Temple (noun)
a thing regarded as holy or likened to a temple, especially a person’s body
“June treats her body like a temple: she takes yoga classes every day”
Temple (noun)
a place devoted to or seen as the centre of a particular activity or interest
“a temple of science”
Temple (noun)
a group of buildings in Fleet Street, London, which stand on land formerly occupied by the headquarters of the Knights Templar. Located there are the Inner and Outer Temple, two of the Inns of Court.
Temple (noun)
the flat part of either side of the head between the forehead and the ear
“a man with curly hair greying at the temples”
Temple (noun)
a device in a loom for keeping the cloth stretched.