The Collaborative International Dictionary
Temple \Tem"ple\, n. [AS. tempel, from L. templum a space marked out, sanctuary, temple; cf. Gr. ? a piece of land marked off, land dedicated to a god: cf. F. t['e]mple, from the Latin. Cf. Contemplate.]
A place or edifice dedicated to the worship of some deity; as, the temple of Jupiter at Athens, or of Juggernaut in India. ``The temple of mighty Mars.''
--Chaucer.-
(Jewish Antiq.) The edifice erected at Jerusalem for the worship of Jehovah.
Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
--John x. 2 -
3. Hence, among Christians, an edifice erected as a place of public worship; a church.
Can he whose life is a perpetual insult to the authority of God enter with any pleasure a temple consecrated to devotion and sanctified by prayer?
--Buckminster. -
Fig.: Any place in which the divine presence specially resides. ``The temple of his body.''
--John ii. 21.Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?
--1 Cor. iii. 16.The groves were God's first temples.
--Bryant. (Mormon Ch.) A building dedicated to the administration of ordinances.
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A local organization of Odd Fellows.
Inner Temple, and Middle Temple, two buildings, or ranges of buildings, occupied by two inns of court in London, on the site of a monastic establishment of the Knights Templars, called the Temple.
Wikipedia
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns. It is located in the wider Temple area of the capital, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London.
The Inn is a professional body that provides legal training, selection, and regulation for members. It is ruled by a governing council called "Parliament", made up of the Masters of the Bench (or " Benchers"), and led by the Treasurer, who is elected to serve a one-year term. The Temple takes its name from the Knights Templar, who originally leased the land to the Temple's inhabitants (Templars) until their abolition in 1312. The Inner Temple was a distinct society from at least 1388, although as with all the Inns of Court its precise date of founding is not known. After a disruptive early period (during which the Temple was almost entirely destroyed in the Peasants' Revolt) it flourished, becoming the second largest Inn during the Elizabethan period (after Gray's Inn).
The Inner Temple expanded during the reigns of James I and Charles I, with 1,700 students admitted between 1600 and 1640. The First English Civil War's outbreak led to a complete suspension of legal education, with the Inns close to being shut down for almost four years. Following the English Restoration the Inner Templars welcomed Charles II back to London personally with a lavish banquet.
After a period of slow decline in the 18th century, the following 100 years saw a restoration of the Temple's fortunes, with buildings constructed or restored, such as the Hall and the Library. Much of this work was destroyed during The Blitz, when the Hall, Temple, Temple Church, and many sets of chambers were devastated. Rebuilding was completed in 1959, and today the Temple is a flourishing and active Inn of Court, with over 8,000 members.
Usage examples of "inner temple".
Against three walls of the inner temple he had ordered the erection of timber scaffolding.
Metal caught the sunlight, a splendid burst of gold against the dark curtain that shrouded the entrance to the inner temple.
An armed guard who stood before the entrance to the Inner Temple saluted Andreas and stepped aside, pulling the great door open for him.
I go to live out my days in the palace for retired Ladies in the Terrace of Shadows, and who comes to Inner Temple?
And they had put him to death and scaled the walls and come to the inner temple court with not a moment to spare.
Or had whatever power of the Dark was at work here simply left them for later, after it had fully secured its grasp on the inner temple?
At one end an inner temple, thatched with palm, had been constructed, and in it reposed the ark which housed the holy of holies, the ultimate statue of Oro.
Gray's Inn for walks, Lincoln's Inn for a wall, The Inner Temple for a garden, The Middle Temple for a hall.
Armed guards surrounded the antechamber while temple guards in the black and silver garb of their order filled the inner temple.