adytum
Americannoun
plural
adyta-
(in ancient worship) a sacred place that the public was forbidden to enter; an inner shrine.
-
the most sacred or reserved part of any place of worship.
noun
Etymology
Origin of adytum
1665–75; < Latin < Greek ádyton (place) not to be entered, equivalent to a- a- 6 + -dyton, neuter of -dytos, verbid of dýein to enter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Later that night, I peeked into the center’s adytum, a dark and lovely stone chapel whose altar glowed with candlelight.
From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2011
The crypt of adytum, used by priests for unknown rituals, was about 12 by 13 feet, roughly built, its floor stuccoed.
From Time Magazine Archive
It is, therefore, an adytum and occasions shame.
From Human, All Too Human A Book for Free Spirits by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm
Into this sipho the pledges were placed in order to be conveyed to the adytum or secret recess of the dwelling.
From The Comic Latin Grammar A new and facetious introduction to the Latin tongue by Leech, John
On the contrary, it believes in the innate goodness and God-like purity of the human soul, adoring it as the adytum from which divine oracles are proclaimed.
From Bushido, the Soul of Japan by Nitobe, Inazo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
