propylaeum

English

Alternative forms

• propylaeon

Etymology

From Latin propylaeum, from Ancient Greek προπύλαιον (propúlaion), from προ- (pro-, “before”, “in front of”) + πύλη (púlē, “gate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌpɹəʊpɪˈliːəm/

Noun

propylaeum (plural propylaea or propylaeums)

1. (historical, especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome) A vestibule or entrance, (especially) to a temple.
   • 1892, Thomas Hardy, The Well-Beloved:

     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.

Translations

vestibule or entrance

• French: propylée (fr)
• Italian: propileo m