propylaeum
/ˌpɹəʊpɪˈliːəm/
propylaeum noun: a vestibule or entrance, (especially) to a temple.
Noun
propylaeum (plural propylaea or propylaeums)
- A vestibule or entrance, (especially) to a temple.
- 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.1892, Thomas Hardy, The Well-Beloved
Forms of propylaeum
| plural | propylaea |
|---|---|
| plural | propylaeums |
| alternative form | propylaeon |
Origin of propylaeum
From Latin propylaeum, from Ancient Greek προπύλαιον (propúlaion), from προ- (pro-, “before”, “in front of”) + πύλη (púlē, “gate”).
Questions about propylaeum
- What does propylaeum mean?
- Propylaeum means a vestibule or entrance, (especially) to a temple.
- What part of speech is propylaeum?
- Propylaeum is a noun.
- How do you pronounce propylaeum?
- Propylaeum is pronounced /ˌpɹəʊpɪˈliːəm/.
- What is the plural of propylaeum?
- The plural of propylaeum is propylaea.
Words near propylaeum in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: propylaeum (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “propylaeum.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/propylaeum. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.