Propylaeum
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A vestibule or entrance, (especially) to a temple. historical
"On either side of the road young girls stood with pitchers at the fountains which bubbled there, and behind the houses forming the propylaea of the rock rose the massive forehead of the Isle — crested at this part with its enormous ramparts as with a mural crown."
Example
More examples"On either side of the road young girls stood with pitchers at the fountains which bubbled there, and behind the houses forming the propylaea of the rock rose the massive forehead of the Isle — crested at this part with its enormous ramparts as with a mural crown."
Etymology
From Latin propylaeum, from Ancient Greek προπύλαιον (propúlaion), from προ- (pro-, “before”, “in front of”) + πύλη (púlē, “gate”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.