palace

[pal-is]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR palace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the official residence of a king, queen, bishop, or other sovereign or exalted personage.

a large and stately mansion or building.

a large and usually ornate place for entertainment, exhibitions, etc.

Origin of palace

1200–50; Middle English < Medieval Latin palācium, spelling variant of palātium, Latin: generic use of Palātium name of the hill in Rome on which the emperor's palace was situated; replacing Middle English paleis < Old French ≪ Latin Palātium

Related formspal·aced, adjectivepal·ace·like, adjectivepal·ace·ward, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for palace

mansion, dwelling, hall, castle, chateau, manor, alcazar

Examples from the Web for palace

Contemporary Examples of palace

The campaign was known to palace insiders as “Operation Mrs. PB.”
Pulled Documentary Says William Felt ‘Used’ by Charles’ Push for Camilla
Tom Sykes
December 30, 2014
A palace insider however insisted to the Daily Beast today that the Queen was not about to abdicate.
Could The Queen Abdicate on Christmas Day?
Tom Sykes
December 17, 2014
The tomb, though much smaller than the palace, is similarly a vision of ornate twists, arches, and peaks.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand
Nina Strochlic
November 20, 2014
For the next 33 years, he singlehandedly constructed a palace in his garden, stone by stone.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand
Nina Strochlic
November 20, 2014
But as an old man, he became proprietor of a palace fit for a king—one he built stone-by-stone with his own two hands.
The Postman Who Built a Palace in France…by Hand
Nina Strochlic
November 20, 2014

Historical Examples of palace

She was conveyed to the palace in a cedar carriage, carefully screened from observation.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He began to rebuild the palace and ordered that the rubbish be removed from the temples.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
I fancied it in the fields, in the gardens, in the palace, in the prison.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
No chamber in the palace of a king could have been more fair.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
The palace of the anti-popes, moreover, is turned into a caserne.
The Roof of France
Matilda Betham-Edwards

British Dictionary definitions for palace

palace

noun (capital when part of a name)

the official residence of a reigning monarch or member of a royal familyBuckingham Palace

the official residence of various high-ranking church dignitaries or members of the nobility, as of an archbishop

a large and richly furnished building resembling a royal palace

Related formsRelated adjectives: palatial, palatine

Word Origin for palace

C13: from Old French palais, from Latin Palātium Palatine ², the site of the palace of the emperors

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for palace

early 13c., "official residence of an emperor, king, archbishop, etc.," from Old French palais "palace, court," from Medieval Latin palacium "a palace" (source of Spanish palacio, Italian palazzo), from Latin palatium "the Palatine hill," in plural, "a palace," from Mons Palatinus "the Palatine Hill," one of the seven hills of ancient Rome, where Augustus Caesar's house stood (the original "palace"), later the site of the splendid residence built by Nero. In English, the general sense of "splendid dwelling place" is from late 14c.

The hill name probably is ultimately from palus "stake," on the notion of "enclosure." Another guess is that it is from Etruscan and connected with Pales, supposed name of an Italic goddess of shepherds and cattle.