TEM'PLAR, noun [from the Temple, a house near the Thames, which originally belonged to the knights Templars. The latter took their denomination from an apartment of the palace of Baldwin II. in Jerusalem, near the temple.]

1. A student of the law.

2. Templars, knights of the Temple, a religious military order, first established at Jerusalem in favor of pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land. The order originated with some persons who, in 1118, devoted themselves to the service of God, promising to live in perpetual chastity, obedience and poverty, after the manner of canons. In 1228, this order was confirmed in the council of Troyes, and subjected to a rule of discipline. It flourished, became immensely rich, and its members became so insolent and vicious, that the order was suppressed by the council of Vienne, in 1312.