gymnasium
/d͡ʒɪmˈneɪ.zi.əm/ noun
Forms gymnasia gymnasiums
- noun (formal) A large room or building for indoor sports.
- noun A type of secondary school in some European countries which typically prepares students for university.
- noun (historical) A public place or building where Ancient Greek youths took exercise, with running and wrestling grounds, baths, and halls for conversation.
Synonyms
gym grammar school prep school secondary school lyceum lycee middle school
Etymology
From Latin gymnasium, from Ancient Greek γυμνάσιον (gumnásion, “exercise, school”), from γυμνός (gumnós, “naked”), because Greek athletes trained naked.
Webster’s 1913
- A place or building where athletic exercises are performed; a school for gymnastics.
- A school for the higher branches of literature and science; a preparatory school for the university; --used esp. of German schools of this kind.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gymnasium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details