Definition of Temple

Temple: An area just behind and to the side of the forehead and the eye, above the side of the check bone (the zygomatic arch) and in front of the ear.

In optometry, the temple is the side bar of a pair of glasses which passes on the side of the head to help hold the glasses in place.

The word "temple" comes from the Latin "templum" and the Greek "temenos" which referred to an area marked off for the observation of omens.

The temple of the head may have served as an anatomic area for the observation of omens. One might divine a person's temperament, for example, from the graying of their hair at the temple, the recession of hair from that area, the prominence and pulsation of vessels just beneath the skin of the temple, etc.

The adjective for temple is temporal.