Templum

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A sacred or consecrated area designated for religious practices or rituals
2. an architectural structure serving as a place of worship or devotion
3. a symbolic space that represents divine presence and authority in various cultures

Etymology: The Latin "templum" originally meant a space marked off by an augur, not a building at all. Roman augurs, who read omens from birds, used a curved staff called a "lituus" to draw an imaginary rectangle in the sky or on the ground, dividing the heavens into quadrants. Whatever lay inside that boundary was the "templum," a consecrated area where the gods' signs could be observed. The sense of a sacred structure came later, once such marked spaces were built upon. The root is generally linked to Indo-European "tem-," meaning "to cut," which fits the idea of a space cut off from the surrounding ground. The Latin word also has a surprising relative in English: "temple," the place of worship, comes from it through Old French and Old English routes, while "contemplate" comes from the augural sense, since to contemplate was originally to observe a marked region of sky for omens.

Synonyms: temple, sanctuary, shrine, church, chapel