temple

1 of 2

noun (1)

tem·​ple ˈtem-pəl 

1

: a building for religious practice: such as

a

often capitalized : either of two successive national sanctuaries in ancient Jerusalem

b

: a building for Mormon sacred ordinances

c

: the house of worship of Reform and some Conservative Jewish congregations

2

: a local lodge of any of various fraternal orders

also : the building housing it

3

: a place devoted to a special purpose

a temple of cuisine

templed

ˈtem-pəld 

adjective

temple

2 of 2

noun (2)

1

: the flattened space on each side of the forehead of some mammals including humans

2

: one of the side supports of a pair of glasses jointed to the bows and passing on each side of the head

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• church
• kirk [chiefly Scottish]
• tabernacle

Examples of temple in a Sentence

Noun (1)

the largest temple in the Gothic style in the country

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

There was not, however, much to see beyond the screen, the camera, the button and a USB-C port at the bottom of the left temple. —Rob Pegoraro, PC Magazine, 22 May 2025

The Connaught According to Ferreira, The Connaught is the temple. —Rachel Dube, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025

King’s home is a temple to Black excellence, art-directed like a Pedro Almodóvar movie (its colored walls adorned with paintings and artifacts from Lee’s personal collection), in a way that collapses the distance between the filmmaker and his fictional protagonist. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 19 May 2025

The stories in Image magazine’s May issue journey through various environments that encourage or require stillness — from the hot tub at the spa to the temple and even the dentist’s chair. —Elisa Wouk Almino, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, in part going back to Old English tempel, templ, in part borrowed from Anglo-French temple, both borrowed from Latin templum "space of sky or land delimited orally by an augur, piece of ground used for taking auspices, sacred precinct, building consecrated to a deity," of uncertain origin

Note: Latin templum has been traditionally derived from the Indo-European verbal base tem- "cut" (see tome), on the assumption that the original templum was a space "cut out" by the augur; the suffix would presumably be -lo-, with the -p- secondary. Greek témenos "sacred precinct" has been compared. More recently templum as been associated with a putative *temp- "stretch, extend," assuming a further sense "measure" (see tempo); the templum would then be a space "measured" by an augur.

Noun (2)

Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, going back to Vulgar Latin *tempula, altered (with conformation to the suffix -ula) from Latin tempora, plural (taken as feminine singular) of tempus "side of the forehead, temple," of uncertain origin

Note: On the assumption that Latin tempor-, tempus "time" meant originally "stretch, extent" (see tempo) tempus "temple" has been taken as a semantic bifurcation of the same word, the temple of the head being the place where the skin is stretched tightly against the skull. Compare Old Norse þunn-vangi, Old High German dunnwangi "temple," literally, "thin-cheek."

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing temple

• go to temple

Rhymes for temple

• semple

Kids Definition

temple

1 of 2 noun

tem·​ple ˈtem-pəl 

: a building for worship

temple

2 of 2 noun

: the flattened space on each side of the forehead of some mammals including human beings

Medical Definition

temple

noun

tem·​ple ˈtem-pəl 

1

: the flattened space on each side of the forehead of some mammals (as humans)

2

: one of the side supports of a pair of glasses jointed to the bows and passing on each side of the head

Geographical Definition

Temple

geographical name

Tem·​ple ˈtem-pəl 

city in northeast central Texas south-southwest of Waco population 66,102

Biographical Definition

Temple 1 of 4

biographical name (1)

Tem·​ple ˈtem-pəl 

Frederick 1821–1902 archbishop of Canterbury (1896–1902)

Temple

2 of 4

biographical name (2)

Shirley 1928–2014 Shirley Temple Black American actress and diplomat

Temple

3 of 4

biographical name (3)

Sir William 1628–1699 British statesman

Temple

4 of 4

biographical name (4)

William 1881–1944 son of Frederick Temple archbishop of Canterbury (1942–44)