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refugium

[ri-fyoo-jee-uh m]
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noun, plural re·fu·gi·a [ri-fyoo-jee-uh] /rɪˈfyu dʒi ə/.
  1. an area where special environmental circumstances have enabled a species or a community of species to survive after extinction in surrounding areas.
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Origin of refugium

From Latin, dating back to 1940–45; see origin at refuge
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for refugium

Historical Examples

  • This species may have utilized the mainstream as a refugium in the drought of 1952-'56.

    Fish Populations, Following a Drought, in the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes Rivers of Kansas

    James Everett Deacon

  • While, from that "refugium peccatorum," the shilling gallery, infernal cries of "Down in the front!"

  • Nor did they abstain from their criminal pursuits while in this “refugium peccatorum,” or asylum of the wicked.

British Dictionary definitions for refugium

refugium

noun plural -gia (-dʒɪə)
  1. a geographical region that has remained unaltered by a climatic change affecting surrounding regions and that therefore forms a haven for relict fauna and flora
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Word Origin

C20: Latin: refuge
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012