scriptorium

noun

scrip·​to·​ri·​um skrip-ˈtȯr-ē-əm How to pronounce scriptorium (audio)
plural scriptoria skrip-ˈtȯr-ē-ə How to pronounce scriptorium (audio)
: a copying room for scribes especially in a medieval monastery

Examples of scriptorium in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The scriptorium darkens over white vellum. Sean Carroll, Discover Magazine, 5 Apr. 2011 The books were assembled in the Rupertsberg scriptorium, where nuns transcribed Hildegard’s prose and inserted illustrations of her ideas. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 30 Jan. 2023 Brendan spends his days at a scriptorium, learning from a master illuminator, Brother Aidan, and gathering materials for ink in a nearby forest. Mark O’Connell, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2020 It was created by scribes in a scriptorium in Wales under Jackson’s artistic direction, and is the first monumental, illuminated Bible commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in the modern era. Thomas Saccente, The Seattle Times, 13 Jan. 2018 Visual inspection suggested that this manuscript, from the Christ Church scriptorium in Canterbury and dating to about 1125 C.E. to 1150 C.E., was also made of interleaved calf, sheep, and goat. Ann Gibbons, Science | AAAS, 25 July 2017 Until William Caxton used a printing press in 1475, English words were reproduced by scribes in scriptoria. Anne Trubek, WIRED, 31 Jan. 2012

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'scriptorium.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin, from Latin scribere

First Known Use

1695, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of scriptorium was in 1695

Dictionary Entries Near scriptorium

Cite this Entry

“Scriptorium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/scriptorium. Accessed 12 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

scriptorium

noun
scrip·​to·​ri·​um skrip-ˈtōr-ē-əm How to pronounce scriptorium (audio)
-ˈtȯr-
plural scriptoria -ē-ə How to pronounce scriptorium (audio)
: a copying room in a monastery for use by scribes in the Middle Ages

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