temple
[ˈtɪm.pl̩]
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.45 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
noun
noun
noun
A meeting house of the Oddfellows fraternity; its members.
noun
A gesture wherein the forefingers are outstretched and touch pad to pad while the other fingers are clasped together.
Example Sentences
- "The temple of Zeus was very large."
- "As of October 1968 Lukang, which had a resident population of between 27,000 and 28,000 people, had 39 temples. It is my impression that Lukang has more temples than do most Taiwanese communities of equivalent size. By temple I mean a structure that houses an image, altar, and incense pot, and is freely accessible to the general public. In speaking of the 39 temples of Lukang, I am omitting the numerous small shrines to the unknown dead (Yu Ying Kung), buildings dedicated to ancestors rather than deities (two), Christian churches (four), incense-burner associations that keep their incense pot or image in private homes, and private shrines such as the domestic altars of tang-ki (spirit mediums) or the shrine of the now defunct Ch'üan-chou guild, found in the back room of a drugstore endowed with the guild property.[...]Lukang, seen in comparative perspective, has a lot of temples."
- "How often do you go to temple?"
- "a temple of commerce; a temple of drinking and dining"
- "My body is my temple."
- "For nature crescent does not grow alone In thews and bulks, but as this temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal."
Etymology
From Middle English temple, from Old English templ, tempel, borrowed from Latin templum (“shrine, temple, area for auspices”). Compare Old High German tempal (“temple”), also a borrowing from the Latin. Displaced native Old English ealh.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *temh₁-, temple, templ, templum, tempora
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /tɪm.pl̩/
Usage
- Transitive verb
- British usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.