refugium

[ ri-fyoo-jee-uh m ]

/ rɪˈfyu dʒi əm /

noun, plural re·fu·gi·a [ri-fyoo-jee-uh] /rɪˈfyu dʒi ə/.

an area where special environmental circumstances have enabled a species or a community of species to survive after extinction in surrounding areas.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for refugium

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
Nor did they abstain from their criminal pursuits while in this “refugium peccatorum,” or asylum of the wicked.
The Indians' Last Fight|Dennis Collins
While, from that "refugium peccatorum," the shilling gallery, infernal cries of "Down in the front!"
Bentley's Miscellany, Volume II|Various

British Dictionary definitions for refugium

refugium

/ (rɪˈfjuːdʒɪəm) /

noun plural -gia (-dʒɪə)

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

Word Origin for refugium

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