Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 寺. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 寺, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 寺 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 寺 you have here. The definition of the word 寺 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of寺, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Note that in Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese scripts, the top half of the character is 土 (instead of 士 as seen in Traditional Chinese), which is also the historical form found in the Kangxi Dictionary.
Phono-semantic compound (形聲/形声, OC *ljɯs) : phonetic 𡳿(OC *tjɯ, “to go”) + semantic 又(“hand”) – to grasp, to hold. Phonetic 𡳿 (之) became 土 or 士 in the clerical script from the late Western Han to the Eastern Han, and semantic 又 become 寸 in Small Seal Script. The derivative 持 (OC *l'ɯ) refers to the original word.
The character was often used in the place of a more specialized form. For example, in the Chu Silk Manuscript (see table above) it clearly stood for 時 (OC *djɯ, “season”).
Other sources[5] describe Japanese tera as cognate with modern Korean찰 (刹, chal, “temple”), appearing as a component in terms such as 선찰 (禪刹, seonchal, “Zen temple”), 사찰 (寺刹, sachal, “Buddhist temple”).
Considering the phonetic development in Korean, the avenues for transmission of Buddhist terms to Japan, and the consistent temple sense of the Japanese term throughout recorded history, the now-obsolete Korean뎔(dyeol, “temple”) may be a more likely source than Palithera(“elders”).
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)