Noun

temple (plural temples)

1. A building for worship.

   "A temple of Zeus."

2. (often capitalized) The Jewish temple of Jerusalem, first built by Solomon.
3. (French), Sometimes used to describe a protestant church in French-speaking nations.
4. Something regarded as holding religious presence.
5. Something of importance; something attended to.

   My body is my temple.

6. (obsolete) a body
   • 1602, Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, scene 3, lines 11–14:

     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.

Synonyms

• house of worship

Related terms

• temporal
• Templar

A temple (from the Latin word templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. 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. This tradition dates back to prehistoric times. For the ancient Egyptians, the word pr could refer not only to a house, but also to a sacred structure since it was believed that the gods resided in houses. The word "temple" (which dates to about the 6th century BCE), despite the specific set of meanings associated with the religion of the ancient Rome, has now become quite widely used to describe a house of worship for any number of religions and is even used for time periods prior to the Romans.