temple

temple · noun, verb¹

1. Latin · derived fromtemplum“shrine, temple, area for auspices”
2. Old English · inherited fromtempl
3. Middle English · inherited fromtemple
4. English todaytemple

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.

temple · noun²

1. Latin · derived fromtempora“the temples”
2. Vulgar Latin · derived from*temp(u)la
3. Old French · derived fromtemple
4. Middle English · inherited fromtemple
5. English todaytemple

From Middle English temple, from Old French temple, from Vulgar Latin *temp(u)la, from Latin tempora (“the temples”), plural of tempus (“temple, head, face”). See temporal bone.

temple · noun³

1. Latin · borrowed fromtemplum“a small timber, a purlin”
2. English todaytemple

Borrowed from Latin templum (“a small timber, a purlin”); compare templet and template.

Words from the same roots