temenos

T1E1M3E1N1O1S1
/ˈtɛmənɒs/

noun

Ground under, surrounding and adjacent to a temple; a sacred enclosure or precinct.

OriginAncient Greek τέμενος →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

nountemenos (plural temenoi or temene)

plural temenoi · plural temene

  1. chiefly Ancient GreeceGround under, surrounding and adjacent to a temple; a sacred enclosure or precinct.

    The three spheres – political, commercial, spiritual – intersected, and at the very centre of their conjunction was, and is, the Meccan temenos.

    2019, Tim Mackintosh-Smith, Arabs, Yale University Press, page 123

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekτέμενος
  2. Englishtemenos

From Ancient Greek τέμενος (témenos).

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

mesonettensome
Cite this entry
APA

temenos. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temenos

MLA

“temenos.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temenos. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “temenos,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temenos.

Source: temenos on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.