temenos means ground under, surrounding and adjacent to a temple; a sacred enclosure or precinct. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
temenos is pronounced /ˈtɛmənɒs/.
Why “temenos” is a great word
TEMENOS — [Noun] A sacred enclosure or precinct of land surrounding and belonging to a temple, dedicated to a deity. From Ancient Greek τέμενος (témenos, "sacred precinct"), from the verb τέμνω (témnō, "to cut"), thus literally meaning "a place cut off" or set apart. Unlike a "sanctuary," which offers a broad refuge, or a "precinct," which denotes a bounded administrative zone, a temenos is a deliberate, hallowed demarcation of earth. It is the sun-warmed dust within the boundary stones, scented with incense; the cool shade of a perimeter wall on the communal path; and the profound silence that falls between the noise of the agora and the altar within—a quiet argument that the divine can only be approached through a deliberate act of subtraction.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek τέμενος (témenos).
noun
- Ground under, surrounding and adjacent to a temple; a sacred enclosure or precinct.“The three spheres – political, commercial, spiritual – intersected, and at the very centre of their conjunction was, and is, the Meccan temenos.”