gopuram

go·pu·ram

(gō′po͝or-əm) also go·pu·ra (-po͝or-ə)

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 Sanskrit gauḥ, go-, cow) of Tamil kōpuram, gopuram : kō, king + puram, fortress (from Sanskrit puram, from pūr, pur-, rampart, fortress; see pelə- in Indo-European roots).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive ?

During the festival, flower sale in Telangana increases manifold as the Bathukamma idols are made up of flower stack and arranged in seven concentric layers in the shape of temple Gopuram. Several seasonal flowers having medicinal values are used to make the idols.

Bathukamma celebration begins in Telangana

Maruthu produced by Gopuram Films releases in the UAE on May 19.

Muthiah returns with another film on relationships: Maruthu'

Visit the main gopuram and you will be awestruck by its beauty.

HAPPY PLACES

And so Nithya Menon made her debut as the lead heroine opposite Mohanlal in Akasha Gopuram. Her big hit came with Nandini Reddy's Telegu film, Ala Modalaindi.

Nithya is natural

The main gopuram and inner ceiling were covered with colourful figures from mythology and Hindu Puranas while the pillars bore exquisite sculptures and carvings.

Quirky delights: Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Chitra Gopuram of the Nambi Rayar temple alone shatters that myth and

The temple at Thirukurungudi: flights of fancy in stone, wood and words

The temple and the church are like Siamese twins, though the gopuram, done in South Indian style, and the spires reveal their distinct identities.

Baptism of Fire

Its huge gopuram gateway towers covered in countless polychrome sculptures of divine figures, animals and demons and its vast architectural scale and numerous shrines to 'myriads of monster-gods, many-headed, many-armed, often colossal' left him cold.

The Green Goddess: William Archer's Great War Play

Her debut as an actor was in the Mohanlal-starrer kasha Gopuram ten years later.

Air India suspends two pilots for operating flight with actress in the cockpit

Its height will increase to 11.8 metres, to put in two extra floors and a decorative tower (Gopuram) will stand at 21.3 metres.