mansion
- 01 B1 Intermediate
a very large and expensive house, usually with many rooms and beautiful grounds.
a large, impressive, and expensive residence, typically built for a wealthy individual or family.
Simple“The movie star lives in a huge mansion with a swimming pool and ten bedrooms.”
In context“The historic district is famous for its nineteenth-century mansions, many of which have been preserved as museums or private estates.”
UsageCountable noun; often used to imply luxury and social status.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
one of the 28 parts of the sky used in ancient astrology to track the moon.
one of the twenty-eight divisions of the zodiac through which the moon passes in its monthly revolution.
Simple“Ancient astronomers divided the sky into different mansions to track the moon's path.”
In context“The concept of lunar mansions was central to medieval astrological calculations and navigation.”
UsageUsually refers to 'lunar mansions' in historical or esoteric texts.
Inherited from Middle English mansioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mansion, mansiun, from Latin mānsiō (“dwelling, stopping-place”), from the past participle stem of manēre (“stay”). By surface analysis, manse + -ion.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.