TEMPLE

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does temple mean? 

• TEMPLE (noun)
  The noun TEMPLE has 4 senses:

1. place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity

2. the flat area on either side of the forehead

3. an edifice devoted to special or exalted purposes

4. (Judaism) the place of worship for a Jewish congregation

  Familiarity information: TEMPLE used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TEMPLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Place of worship consisting of an edifice for the worship of a deity

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("temple" is a kind of...):

house of God; house of prayer; house of worship; place of worship (any building where congregations gather for prayer)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "temple"):

joss house (a Chinese temple or shrine for idol worship)

pagoda (an Asian temple; usually a pyramidal tower with an upward curving roof)

pantheon ((antiquity) a temple to all the gods)

Instance hyponyms:

Artemision at Ephesus (the large temple of the Greek goddess Artemis which was begun at Ephesus in 541 BC and completed 220 years later; the temple was destroyed by the Goths in 262)

Parthenon (the main temple of the goddess Athena; built on the acropolis in Athens more than 400 years B.C.; example of Doric architecture)

Mormon Tabernacle; Tabernacle (the Mormon temple)

Temple of Artemis (a large temple at Ephesus that was said to be one of the seven wonders of the ancient world)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The flat area on either side of the forehead

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Context example:

the veins in his temple throbbed

Hypernyms ("temple" is a kind of...):

feature; lineament (the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose and mouth and chin)

Holonyms ("temple" is a part of...):

caput; head (the upper part of the human body or the front part of the body in animals; contains the face and brains)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An edifice devoted to special or exalted purposes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("temple" is a kind of...):

building; edifice (a structure that has a roof and walls and stands more or less permanently in one place)

Meronyms (parts of "temple"):

column; pillar ((architecture) a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure)

entablature ((architecture) the structure consisting of the part of a classical temple above the columns between a capital and the roof)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "temple"):

ziggurat; zikkurat; zikurat (a rectangular tiered temple or terraced mound erected by the ancient Assyrians and Babylonians)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(Judaism) the place of worship for a Jewish congregation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

synagogue; tabernacle; temple

Hypernyms ("temple" is a kind of...):

house of God; house of prayer; house of worship; place of worship (any building where congregations gather for prayer)

Domain category:

Judaism (the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud)

Instance hyponyms:

Temple of Jerusalem; Temple of Solomon (any of three successive temples in Jerusalem that served as the primary center for Jewish worship; the first temple contained the Ark of the Covenant and was built by Solomon in the 10th century BC and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC; the second was built in 515 BC and the third was an enlargement by Herod the Great in 20 BC that was destroyed by the Romans during a Jewish revolt in AD 70; all that remains is the Wailing Wall)

 Context examples 

Other symptoms include: • Headaches • Pain and tenderness over the temples • Double vision or visual loss, dizziness • Problems with coordination and balance • Pain in your jaw and tongue

(Giant Cell Arteritis, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

I rested my temples on the breast of temptation, and put my neck voluntarily under her yoke of flowers.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Have it carried half a quarter of an inch towards the temple,” said Miss Mowcher.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

“Oh, such a business!” he cried, with his hands to his temples.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That was the problem that (crushing my temples in my hands) I set myself to solve.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

Johnston, the old archer, was struck upon the temple and fell dead without a groan, while fifteen of his bowmen and six of the men-at-arms were struck down at the same moment.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Merlin Burrows says it was then that the company found what it believes is remains of temples and towers.

(Researchers Claim to Have Found Mythical City of Atlantis in Spain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

For the first time, the temple's main sanctuary, known as the Holy of Holies, was opened.

(Discovery of Two Tombs Dating Back 3,500 Years Announced in Egypt, VOA)

I was very desirous to see the chief temple, and particularly the tower belonging to it, which is reckoned the highest in the kingdom.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

Only when I pressed the cold muzzle of the revolver to his temple did he at last understand that resistance was vain.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)