TABERNACLE
synagogue, temple, tabernacle
(noun) (Judaism) the place of worship for a Jewish congregation
Tabernacle
(noun) (Judaism) a portable sanctuary in which the Jews carried the Ark of the Covenant on their exodus
Tabernacle, Mormon Tabernacle
(noun) the Mormon temple
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
tabernacle (plural tabernacles)
Any temporary dwelling; a hut, tent, or booth.
(Bible) The portable tent used before the construction of the temple, where the shekinah (presence of God) was believed to dwell.
(by extension) The Jewish Temple at Jerusalem (as continuing the functions of the earlier tabernacle).
Any portable shrine used in heathen or idolatrous worship.
A sukkah, the booth or 'tabernacle' used during the Jewish Feast of Sukkot.
A small ornamented cupboard or box used for the reserved sacrament of the Eucharist, normally located in an especially prominent place in a Roman Catholic church.
(US) A temporary place of worship, especially a tent, for a tent meeting, as with a venue for revival meetings.
(by extension) Any house of worship; used especially of Mormon churches.
(figuratively) Any abode or dwelling place, or especially the human body as the temporary dwelling place of the soul, or life.
(nautical) A hinged device allowing for the easy folding of a mast 90 degrees from perpendicular, as for transporting the boat on a trailer, or passing under a bridge.
Verb
tabernacle (third-person singular simple present tabernacles, present participle tabernacling, simple past and past participle tabernacled)
(intransitive) To dwell; to abide for a time.
Source: Wiktionary
Tab"er*na*cle, n. [F., fr. L. tabernaculum, dim. of taberna nut. See
Tabern.]
1. A slightly built or temporary habitation; especially, a tent.
Dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob.
Heb. xi. 9.
Orange trees planted in the ground, and secured in winter with a
wooden tabernacle and stoves.
Evelyn.
2. (Jewish Antiq.) A portable structure of wooden framework covered
with curtains, which was carried through the wilderness in the
Israelitish exodus, as a place of sacrifice and worship. Ex. xxvi.
3. Hence, the Jewish temple; sometimes, any other place for worship.
Acts xv. 16.
4. Figuratively: The human body, as the temporary abode of the soul.
Shortly I must put off this my tabernacle.
2 Pet. i. 14.
5. Any small cell, or like place, in which some holy or precious
things was deposited or kept. Specifically: --
(a) The ornamental receptacle for the pyx, or for the consecrated
elements, whether a part of a building or movable.
(b) A niche for the image of a saint, or for any sacred painting or
sculpture.
(c) Hence, a work of art of sacred subject, having a partially
architectural character, as a solid frame resting on a bracket, or
the like.
(d) A tryptich for sacred imagery.
(e) A seat or stall in a choir, with its canopy.
6. (Naut.) A boxlike step for a mast with the after side open, so
that the mast can be lowered to pass under bridges, etc.
Feast of Tabernacles (Jewish Antiq.), one of the three principal
festivals of the Jews, lasting seven days, during which the people
dwelt in booths formed of the boughs of trees, in commemoration of
the habitation of their ancestors in similar dwellings during their
pilgrimage in the wilderness. -- Tabernacle work, rich canopy work
like that over the head of niches, used over seats or stalls, or over
sepulchral monuments. Oxf. Gloss.
Tab"er*na*cle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Tabernacled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Tabernacling.]
Definition: To dwell or reside for a time; to be temporary housed.
He assumed our nature, and tabernacled among us in the flesh.
Dr. J. Scott.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition