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go·pu·ram (gōpr-əm) also go·pu·ra (-pr-ə)
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n.
1. An entrance building to a Hindu temple in southern India, often topped by a tiered tower of massive proportions and intricate decoration.
2. A similar entrance to a Cambodian Hindu and Buddhist temple from the period of the Khmer empire, often of cruciform shape and topped by a small central tower.
[Hindi gopuram, alteration (probably influenced by Hindi go and Sanskrit gauḥ, go-, cow) of Tamil kōpuram, gopuram : kō, king + puram, fortress (from Sanskrit puram, from pūr, pur-, rampart, fortress; see pelə-3 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).]
(click for a larger image)
gopuram
Shwetha Varahaswamy Temple at the Mysuru Palace complex
Karnataka, India
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

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    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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