noun
- a member of a religious military order founded by Crusaders in Jerusalem about 1118, and suppressed in 1312.
- a barrister or other person occupying chambers in the Temple, London.
- a member of the Masonic order, Knights Templars.
noun
- a member of a military religious order (Knights of the Temple of Solomon) founded by Crusaders in Jerusalem around 1118 to defend the Holy Sepulchre and Christian pilgrims; suppressed in 1312
- (sometimes not capital) British a lawyer, esp a barrister, who lives or has chambers in the Inner or Middle Temple in London
n.late 13c., from Anglo-French templer, Old French templier (c.1200), from Medieval Latin templaris (mid-12c.), member of the medieval religious/military order known as Knights Templars (c.1118-1312), so called because they had headquarters in a building near Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.