outer court
Temple's first area
An outer court is the area between a building's perimeter wall and the structure itself, or the less sacred forecourt of a temple complex.
In biblical contexts, the outer court of the Temple in Jerusalem was accessible to common worshippers, while the inner court was restricted to priests.
The term extends to any preliminary or peripheral space that precedes a more important interior: Petitioners waited in the outer court.
- atriumRoofed central hall
- templeSacred worship structure
- Holy of HoliesTemple's innermost sacred chamber
- porticoColumned covered entryway
- colonnadeRow supporting a roof
forecourt · precinct · plaza · paving · pilgrims · merchants · money changers · moneychangers · public space · Solomon · Jerusalem · gates · threshold · sacred · sacred ground · profane · inner · boundary
- Palacesroyal palace, Versailles, Buckingham Palace, imperial palace, Windsor Castle
- Imperial ChinaHan dynasty, emperor, dynasties, emperors, Three Kingdoms
- Javanese palacegamelan, royal guard, throne room, regalia, audience hall
- WiccaBook of Shadows, coven, pentacle, Gerald Gardner, high priestess
- Ancient Egyptpharaoh, pharaohs, sphinx, pyramids, hieroglyphics
- haremconcubines, eunuchs, wives, concubine, eunuch
outer courtinner sanctum
Innermost private place
holy of holies · inner chamber · sanctuary · sanctum sanctorum · inner sanctuary
outer courtinner sanctum
Innermost private place
holy of holies · sanctum sanctorum · restricted area · sanctuary
outer, court, out, outing, outward, outwardly, outermost, courts, courted