modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple"; Angkor  is a vernacular form of the word  nokor  (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word  nagar  (नगर).  Wat  is the  Khmer form of the  Pali  word "vatthu", meaning "temple grounds". Prior to this time the temple was known as  Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka