scriptorium

American  

[skrip-tawr-ee-uhm, -tohr-] / skrɪpˈtɔr i əm, -ˈtoʊr- /

noun

plural

scriptoriums, scriptoria

1. a room, as in a monastery, library, or other institution, where manuscripts are stored, read, or copied.

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scriptorium British  

/ skrɪpˈtɔːrɪəm /

noun

1. a room, esp in a monastery, set apart for the writing or copying of manuscripts

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Etymology

Origin of scriptorium

1765–75; < Medieval Latin scrīptōrium; script, -tory ²

Example Sentences

Marsha Ginsberg’s set featured an open-sided gold box that rotated and moved on and off stage—it became the scriptorium and the abbot’s domain.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

“I feel like I’m a monk in a scriptorium keeping something alive,” Matthews said.

From New York Times • Jul. 21, 2023

While the exact age of the two-sided page is unknown, it is believed to have been written in the abbey's scriptorium between 1225 and 1250.

From BBC • Aug. 5, 2022

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.

From Washington Times • Jan. 14, 2018

Instead she took another slice of bread and was just wondering how nice the cheese standing on the supposed scriptorium table would be when she noticed Mo whispering something to Elinor.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke