Definition of: tabernacle

(tab′ər·nak′əl) noun
1. A tent or similar structure; slight shelter, fixed or portable.
2. Specifically, the portable sanctuary used by the Jews in the wilderness; later, the Jewish temple; hence, any house of worship, especially one of large size and not of specially ecclesiastical architecture: in England, the place of worship of some nonconformists.
3. The human body as the dwelling place of the soul.
4. The ornamental receptacle for the consecrated eucharistic elements, or for the pyx.
5. An ornamental recess or a structure sheltering something.
6. A socket or hinged post to unstep or lower a mast.
—v.i. ·led, ·ling To dwell in a tent; hence, to dwell transiently: The soul tabernacles in the body. [<OF <L tabernaculum, dim. of taberna shed]
—tab·er·nac·u·lar (tab′ər·nak′yə·lər) adjective