pai-lou

noun

variants or less commonly pai-loo
ˈpīˈlō
plural pai-lou or pai-lous
: a usually elaborate Chinese commemorative archway erected in honor of someone highly esteemed (as for virtue) and consisting typically of four heavy square pillars topped with horizontal crossbeams and often buttressed with conventionalized lions and having an incised memorial tablet placed against or near the center crossbeam compare toran, torii

Word History

Etymology

Chinese p'ai2-lou2, from p'ai2 tablet + lou2 tower

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Dictionary Entries Near pai-lou

paillon

pai-lou

pain

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Cite this Entry

“Pai-lou.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pai-lou. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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