torii
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of torii
First recorded in 1720–30; from Japanese, equivalent to tori “bird” + (w)i “perch”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
On South Seaside Avenue they saw a torii gate like one sees at a Shinto shrine, historical plaques and a bronze pair of Japanese fishermen gazing at Fish Harbor, where their village once stood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
Behind a tall torii gate, a larger-than-life statue of a kamikaze pilot is flanked by a huge wall painted with Japan’s wartime Rising Sun flag.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2023
Welcoming the Taniguchis and myriad other park visitors was a cultural symbol that Diane says she “really loved” — an imposing, reddish span modeled on entrance structures at Shinto shrines in Japan, called a torii.
From Seattle Times ● May 5, 2022
The torii gates at Fushimi Inari-taisha, a sacred Shinto shrine dating from 711 AD are beyond spectacular.
From Washington Post
A torii, or portal, is artistically carved in stone, and another is so perfect that the architect feared the envy of the gods, and therefore placed one of the pillars upside down.
From From Pole to Pole A Book for Young People by Hedin, Sven Anders
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
