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penetralia

 
Dictionary: pen·e·tra·li·a   (pĕn'ĭ-trā'lē-ə) pronunciation
pl.n.
  1. The innermost parts of a building, especially the sanctuary of a temple.
  2. The most private or secret parts; recesses: the penetralia of the soul.

[Latin penetrālia, from neuter pl. of penetrālis, inner, from penetrāre, to penetrate. See penetrate.]


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Wordsmith Words: penetralia
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(pen-i-TRAY-lee-uh)

noun
1. The innermost parts of a building, especially the sanctuary of a temple.
2. The most private or secret parts; recesses.

Etymology
Latin penetralia, from neuter pl. of penetralis, inner, from penetrare, to penetrate.

Usage
"Beyond this semipublic space lay the penetralia of the house-the camerino, the small room that was the forerunner of the English closet and the French cabinet, and the studio or studiolo. Here lay privacy, security, and quiet." — James Fenton, A Room of One's Own, The New York Review of Books, Aug 13, 1998.


Architecture: penetralia
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1. The interior part of a building, as a sanctuary.
2. An inner apartment.


Obscure Words: penetralia
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1) the innermost or most private parts, esp. of a temple or palace
2) hidden things or secrets
WordNet: penetralia
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the innermost parts


 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved.  Read more
Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more