Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A room or building equipped for indoor sports.
  • noun An academic high school in some central European countries, especially Germany, that prepares students for the university.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Greek antiquity, a public place for instruction in and the practice of athletic exercises: a feature of all Greek communities.
  • noun Hence In modern use, a place where or a building in which athletic exercises are taught and performed.
  • noun A school or seminary for the higher branches of literature and science; a school preparatory to the universities, especially in Germany; a classical as opposed to a technical school.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A place or building where athletic exercises are performed; a school for gymnastics.
  • noun A school for the higher branches of literature and science; a preparatory school for the university; -- used esp. of German schools of this kind.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A large room or building for indoor sports.
  • noun A type of secondary school in some European countries which typically prepares students for university.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun athletic facility equipped for sports or physical training
  • noun a school for students intermediate between elementary school and college; usually grades 9 to 12

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin, school, from Greek gumnasion, from gumnazein, to exercise naked, from gumnos, naked; see nogw- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin gymnasium, from Ancient Greek γυμνάσιον (gumnasion, "exercise, school"), from γυμνός ("naked"), because Greek athletes trained naked.

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Examples

  • The word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which means naked.

    The Sydney Morning Herald News Headlines 2010

  • In fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which translates as “naked.”

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • In fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which translates as “naked.”

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • In fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which translates as “naked.”

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • In fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, which translates as “naked.”

    God is Not a Christian, Nor a Jew, Muslim, Hindu … Carlton Pearson 2010

  • In many quarters there was a clamour for "practical" studies, and the old classical course was decried as useless, or merely ornamental; its very foundation, the theory of mental or formal discipline, well expressed in the term gymnasium for classical schools in Germany, has been vigorously assailed, but not disproved.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 4: Clandestinity-Diocesan Chancery 1840-1916 1913

  • Having been made so aware of your edges, you’re more inclined to guard them; it’s still significant that the word gymnasium comes from the Greek for naked.

    BREAKFAST WITH SOCRATES ROBERT ROWLAND SMITH 2010

  • Having been made so aware of your edges, you’re more inclined to guard them; it’s still significant that the word gymnasium comes from the Greek for naked.

    BREAKFAST WITH SOCRATES ROBERT ROWLAND SMITH 2010

  • The Prom in the Forks High gymnasium is going to be AWESOME!!!

    Twilight Lexicon » Convention News 2009

  • I have seen many men strip, in gymnasium and training quarters, men of good blood and upbringing, but I have never seen one who stripped to better advantage than this young sot of two-and-twenty, this young god doomed to rack and ruin in four or five short years, and to pass hence without posterity to receive the splendid heritage it was his to bequeath.

    A MAN AND THE ABYSS 2010

Comments

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  • Weirdnet has it right, if you're a German speaker.

    January 9, 2008