tabernacle

/ˌtæbərˈnækəl/

/ˈtæbənækəl/

A tabernacle was originally a Jewish place of worship, like a moveable tent. Synagogues and temples are tabernacles. Tabernacle has now branched out and can refer to a place of worship for Christians, too.

The tabernacle has a long history in the Jewish faith. Originally, a tabernacle was a tent said to contain the Ark of the Covenant. The word comes from the Latin tabernaculum for "tent.” Later, it came to mean a place Jews worship, like Christians worship in a church. Like a church, a tabernacle is a holy place where you will find people worshiping. These days, the word tabernacle is used by others, like in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, for example.

Definitions of tabernacle

1. noun

   (Judaism) the place of worship for a Jewish congregation
   synonyms: synagogue, temple

   examples:

   Temple of Jerusalem

   any of three successive temples in Jerusalem that served as the primary center for Jewish worship; the first temple contained the Ark of the Covenant and was built by Solomon in the 10th century BC and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC; the second was built in 515 BC and the third was an enlargement by Herod the Great in 20 BC that was destroyed by the Romans during a Jewish revolt in AD 70; all that remains is the Wailing Wall

   type of:

   house of God, house of prayer, house of worship, place of worship

   any building where congregations gather for prayer