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"temple (place of worship)" in seven languages

Meaningtemple (place of worship)

Spanish

templo

/ˈtemplo/

masc.learned

French

temple

/tɑ̃pl/

masc.learned

In France, a temple is also a Protestant church.

Italian

tempio

/ˈtɛmpjo/

masc.inherited

plural: templi

Plural templi, with the Latin pl restored.

Portuguese

templo

/ˈtẽplu/

masc.learned

Romanian

templu

/ˈtemplu/

neut.learned

Catalan

temple

/ˈtemplə/

masc.learned

English

temple

/ˈtɛmpəl/

from Latin/French · Latin TEMPLUM, partly via Old French

English → Italiantemple (place of worship)tempioCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

TEMPLUM‘consecrated space, sanctuary’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

Italian treated the word like a native one and softened pl to pi (compare PLĒNUM → pieno), but the plural templi keeps the Latin cluster. Spanish templo did not break its e into ie, a sign of a learned word.

English relatives: contemplate

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In a sentence

  • esVisitamos un templo griego.
  • frNous avons visité un temple grec.
  • itAbbiamo visitato un tempio greco.
  • ptVisitamos um templo grego.
  • roAm vizitat un templu grecesc.
  • caVam visitar un temple grec.
  • enWe visited a Greek temple.

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