Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The gateway of a Shinto temple, consisting of two uprights supporting a concave crosspiece with projecting ends and a straight crosspiece beneath it.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A form of decorative gateway or portal found in Japan. It consists of two upright wooden posts connected at the top by two horizontal cross-pieces, the lower straight and usually terminating with the supports, and the other curved gracefully and resting upon and overhanging the supports. The torii is associated with Shinto worship, and is found at the entrance to Shinto temples. The Japanese suppose that it was intended originally as a roosting-place of the sacred fowls which gave warning of daybreak. The type is common in the East, appearing iu the toran of India, the pailoo of China, and the red-arrow gate of Korea.
Trans. Jap. Soc., IV. 82.
Etymologies
- Japanese : tori, bird + i- (from iru, to dwell). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“A torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine.”
Torii Papercraft | Papercraft Paradise | PaperCrafts | Paper Models | Card Models
“It is appropriate that the one evidence of man in the 46 photographs at Klotz is an off-kilter torii in "Landscape 37" 2010; a torii is a ceremonial Japanese gateway that marks the entrance to a sacred space.”
“In Takeshi Shikama's image the torii is on a slope where it blends in with the trees, shrubs and rocks.”
“Shinto practice is concerned with maintaining the connection between past and present, and the forces of nature, so the torii isn't out of place.”
“There, he found a pagoda surrounded by green-painted torii on four sides, and coursed by a glistening stream with fat koi.”
“The presence of a torii at the entrance is usually the simplest way to identify Shinto shrines while a small torii icon represents them on Japanese road maps.”
Torii Papercraft | Papercraft Paradise | PaperCrafts | Paper Models | Card Models
“On the other side of the bay, beyond the houses, Taro could just make out the other torii gate—the one that announced the shrine of Benten, the Princess of the Hidden Waters, who protected the amas.”
“He passed the torii gate that led to the shrine of Susanoo, kami of storms and the god in whose hands lay the lives of all fishermen.”
“The red torii gate in the sign is to dissuade people by suggesting it would be sacreligious to relieve oneself on such a Shinto symbol.”
“He stood under the soaring steel torii gate that seemed to reflect the spirit of the samurai who died in battle.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘torii’.
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pretty dots all in a row
polka dotted words
hijack, jinx, jingle, beijing, jive, jilted, jittery, jill, hijab, haji, hajj, hijinks and 149 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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The Japanese art of...
Words with definitions beginning with "The Japanese art of..." (or equivalent).
origami, kirigami, furoshiki, ikebana, makimono, ukiyo-e, netsuke, chindōgu, bonsai, naginatajutsu, butoh, Buyō and 30 more...
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Professional Scrabble Lexicon (TWL)
A myriad of game-changing words every Scrabble addict must have in his arsenal.
Keep in mind that these are all tried-and-true feasibly playable words selected for their handiness, i.e...paragon, pignora, ganef, suttee, origan, ohia, aioli, abasement, lehr, mho, tallow, harelike and 843 more...
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Number 9 Dream
By David Mitchell
slag-heap, coracle, unsilt, aquiline, crispen, treatise, hippocampus, fortuitous, megalomania, malinger, dreck, escarpment and 97 more...
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I, Object!
General objects that plain sound nice. They -are- nice.
camera obscura, truncheon, polkageist, lord god bird, stradivarius, panopticon, zither, torii, wumpus, porkpie, yojimbo, bilk and 11 more...
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Symbols
names of symbols
geoid, lemniscate, yin-yang, mandala, cross, triquetra, torii, fylfot, flammulation, mascle, delta, crescent and 30 more...
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Japanease
Aikido/Martial Arts, Philosophy, Bonsai
suiseki, dakishime, ashi, hakama, hidari, migi, domo arigato, suiseki, zanshin, aikido, hakama, hidari and 29 more...
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oh_that_zoe's Words
perspicacious, pronoia, widdershins, clematis, toque, gravid, koan, teak, soporific, flagellum, pitted, loam and 14 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for torii.
kschee1 How do I hear the offical pronunciation of a word. It is not in the pronunciation link Jan 22, 2011