-arium

American  

1. a suffix occurring in loanwords from Latin, which often denote a location or receptacle (armarium; caldarium; solarium; vivarium ). It has limited productivity in English, especially in words denoting an artificial environment for plants or animals, on the model of vivarium or herbarium: aquarium; insectarium; terrarium.

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-arium British  

suffix

1. indicating a place for or associated with something

   aquarium

   planetarium

   solarium

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Usage

What does -arium mean? The combining form -arium is a suffix meaning “location” or "receptacle." It is occasionally used in everyday and technical terms. The form -arium comes from Latin -ārium, meaning "thing connected with or employed in, place for.” Though unrelated, a form similar in meaning and use is -tory (also -torium), from Latin -tōrium, as in dormitory and auditorium. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

Etymology

Origin of -arium

< Latin -ārium; see -ary