Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Gymnasium

Gymnasium (jim*nā"zi*um or jim*nā"zhi*um; 277) , noun

[Latin, from Greek gymna`sion, from gymna`zein to exercise (naked), from gymo`s naked.]

1.
A place or building where athletic exercises are performed; a school for gymnastics.
2.
A school for the higher branches of literature and science; a preparatory school for the university; -- used esp. of German schools of this kind.
More like ordinary schools of gymnasia than universities. — Hallam