palaestra

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a school or exercise ground in ancient Greece or Rome where wrestling and other athletic training took place

   The young athletes practiced wrestling in the palaestra beside the gymnasium.

2. 2
   noun

   an arena or setting for strenuous training or contest; now rare and often figurative

   The debating chamber became a palaestra for the city's most ambitious speakers.

Through Latin palaestra from Ancient Greek palaistra, 'wrestling school,' from palaiein, 'to wrestle.' Palestra is an established spelling variant, but palaestra is the primary historical dictionary form.

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