article Related Topics:
Temple_of_Rain :: Templenoe :: Temples :: Templeogue :: Temple_Bar :: Templemore :: Temple,_Georgia :: Templestowe :: Templestowe_Lower :: Temple_of_Set
 

For other uses, see Temple (disambiguation).
The word temple has different meanings in the fields of architecture, religion, geography, anatomy, and education.

Etymology


The word is derived from the both more and less specific Latin word templum ("sacred place"). Initially, the templum was a section (from Greek temnein - to cut or divide) carved out of the heavens, used by the augurs for divination. - see Roman temple. It is interesting to note that this spatial division has its temporal equivalent with tempus (the time) deriving from the same temnein origin, as a division of the duration.

Religious Terminology


A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites (as in masonry). It is a general term for a house of worship.

Some religions use the term temple, exclusively or alongside specific synonym(s):

Some religions refer to their temples by a unique word of their own: