escorial

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: Es=co=ri=al

CIDE DICTIONARY

escorial, prop. n. [Prop. Sp. escorial, i. e., a hill or heap of rubbish, earth, and stones brought out of a mine, fr. escoria dross of metal, L. scoria, fr. Gr. . Cf. Scoria.].

 A palace and mausoleum of the kings of Spain, being a vast and wonderful structure about twenty-five miles northwest of Madrid; called also escurial. It was erected in 1563-1584 and contains a monastery.  [1913 Webster]
" The ground plan is said to be in the form of a gridiron, the structure being designed in honor of St. Lawrence, who suffered martyrdom by being broiled on a gridiron; but the resemblance is very slight. It is nearly square, inclosing several courts, and has a projecting mass which stands for the handle."  [1913 Webster]