penetralia
Americanplural noun
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the innermost parts or recesses of a place or thing.
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the most private or secret things.
plural noun
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the innermost parts
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secret matters
Other Word Forms
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
It was Ludovic,—Ludovic in her aunt's house,—Ludovic at her chamber door,—Ludovic there, within the very penetralia of their abode, while her aunt and Peter Steinmarc were sitting in the chamber below!
From Linda Tressel by Trollope, Anthony
Even that penetralia, the 'Omnibus,' can not compare with the unwalled room outside, with its star-gemmed ceiling, and the cool breeze eddying away the segar-smoke; so its usual occupants are all outside.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2 No 4, October, 1862 Devoted To Literature And National Policy by Various
And away through the noiseless glass door buzzed Josephine, on her way to the basement, followed by Isabella on her way to the inner penetralia of the second floor; while Col.
From Shoulder-Straps A Novel of New York and the Army, 1862 by Morford, Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
