Word of the Day Archive
Saturday June 9, 2007

sanctum \SANK-tum\ , noun;
plural sanctums or sancta::
1. A sacred place.
2. A place of retreat where one is free from intrusion.

What's more, the babble of radios, televisions and raised voices from the other households in the condominium rarely penetrated this sanctum.
-- Tim Parks, Mimi's Ghost

Seymour has spent most of her research time in that sanctum of the professional biographer, the London Library.
-- John Mullan, "The agony and the ecstasy", The Guardian, December 23, 2000

Sanctum comes from the Latin, meaning "holy, sacred, or inviolable."

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for sanctum

 

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