penetralia

American  

[pen-i-trey-lee-uh] / ˌpɛn ɪˈtreɪ li ə /

plural noun

1. the innermost parts or recesses of a place or thing.

2. the most private or secret things.

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penetralia British  

/ ˌpɛnɪˈtreɪlɪə /

plural noun

1. the innermost parts

2. secret matters

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Other Word Forms

• penetralian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of penetralia

First recorded in 1660–70; from Latin, noun use of neuter plural of penetrālis “inner,” equivalent to penetr(āre) “to penetrate ” + -ālis -al ¹

Example Sentences

Like Kahn’s buildings, too, Lesser’s book has its penetralia, core elements to which one is only gradually led.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2017

The book is littered with show-off phrases such as "alembicated piety" and "the penetralia of one's self-regard."

From Time Magazine Archive

Vadit, io, per aperta sui penetralia coeli: It coelo, et coelum fundit ab ore novum.

From The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume II (of 2) by Crashaw, Richard

Granny Marrable was looking for something, in the penetralia of the model.

From When Ghost Meets Ghost by De Morgan, William Frend

Here lay the penetralia of this domicile, this weak fortification against the world.

From The Broken Gate A Novel by Hough, Emerson