temples

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of temple.

   The valley held a dozen carved temples dating back centuries.

   Gray hair was beginning to show at his temples.

   Note

   Pluralizing brings every kind of temple along with it. It covers the shrines of polytheistic faiths, non-Orthodox synagogues, and Mormon temples, which are closed to non-members and distinct from everyday meetinghouses. It also covers the lodges of the Oddfellows. Figuratively, temples of commerce or learning are places treated as the center of some activity. Only the surrounding words tell the reader which kind is meant.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of temple.

   Note

   A transitive verb form that takes the god, not the building, as its object. A city that temples its war god builds or dedicates a temple to him. The spelling matches the plural noun, so the clause does the sorting. A singular subject before it and a deity after it mark the verb.

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