scriptorium
/skɹɪpˈtɔɹ.i.əm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.73 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A room set aside for the copying, writing, or illuminating of manuscripts and records, especially such a room in a monastery.
Countable
Example Sentences
- "The rules of the scriptorium varied in different monasteries, but artificial light was forbidden for fear of injury to the manuscripts, and silence was always enforced."
- "Very soon, however, I hesitated. It was labour-intensive work, scriptorium-slow."
- "Nevertheless, Aland criticized Martin's suggestion that the codex was the product of the scriptorium attached to a monastery,⁵³⁶ on the grounds that there is no evidence for the existence of monasteries in the year 200, or for the existence of scriptoria at all connected with the Church at that early date."
- "Among the earliest Hiberno-Saxon illuminated manuscripts is the Book of Durrow, a Gospel book that may have been written and decorated in the monastic scriptorium at Iona, although its provenance is not documented."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker-? Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreybʰ- Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti Proto-Italic *skreiβō Latin scrībō Proto-Indo-European *-tōr Proto-Italic *-tōr Latin -tor Latin scrīptor Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium ▲ Latin scrībō ▲ Latin -tor ▲ Latin -ius Latin -tōrius Latin -tōrium Medieval Latin scrīptōriumbor. English scriptorium Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin scrīptōrium, from Latin scrīptōrius (“pertaining to writing”). Doublet of escritoire.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: scrīptōrius
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /skɹɪpˈtɔɹ.i.əm/
- British English: /skɹɪpˈtɔː.ɹɪəm/