temple name

noun

A variant posthumous name used in China and occasionally other East Asian cultures for ritual worship at a dynasty's ancestral temple.

Similar
temple title
OriginChinese 廟號 /庙号 →
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Meanings

nountemple name (plural temple names)

plural temple names

  1. historicalA variant posthumous name used in China and occasionally other East Asian cultures for ritual worship at a dynasty's ancestral temple.

    The posthumous names of early Chinese rulers were often variations of a few words like "the martial one" 武 (wǔ), "the literary one" 文, and "the filial one" 孝 (xiào), but by the Tang they had become so long that people began using rulers' temple names or era names instead.

    Synonyms: temple title

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA variant posthumous name used in China and occasionally other East Asian cultures for ritual worship at a dynasty's ancestral temple.

Similar
temple title
Also see
temple title

Origin

  1. Chinese廟號 /庙号
  2. Englishtemple name

Calque of Chinese 廟號 /庙号 (miàohào). The temple (廟 /庙 (miào)) refers to the grand temples (太廟 /太庙 (tàimiào)) built by each dynasty for ancestor worship where each deceased monarch's temple name was recorded on their ancestral tablet in the grand temple.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 廟號 /庙号
  • 廟號 /庙号 (miàohào)variant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Finnish temppelinimi
  • temppelinimivariant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
French nom de temple
  • nom de templevariant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Japanese 廟号
  • 廟号 (byōgō)variant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Korean 묘호
  • 묘호 (myoho)variant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Russian хра́мовое и́мя
  • хра́мовое и́мя (xrámovoje ímja)variant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Spanish nombre de templo
  • nombre de templovariant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Swedish tempelnamn
  • tempelnamnvariant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Vietnamese miếu hiệu
  • miếu hiệuvariant posthumous name used in East Asian imperial temples
Cite this entry
APA

temple name. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temple%20name

MLA

“temple name.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temple%20name. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “temple name,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/temple%20name.

Source: temple name on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.