Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

sanctum sanctorum

[sangk-tawr-uh m, -tohr-]
See more synonyms for sanctum sanctorum on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the holy of holies of the Biblical tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem.
  2. sanctum(def 2).
Show More

Origin of sanctum sanctorum

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sānctum sānctōrum, translation of Hebrew qōdhesh haqqodhāshīm holy of holies
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sanctum sanctorum

Historical Examples

  • The grand parlor was the sanctum-sanctorum where the passion for cleaning was indulged without control.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8

    Charles H. Sylvester

British Dictionary definitions for sanctum sanctorum

sanctum sanctorum

noun
  1. Bible another term for the holy of holies
  2. often facetious an especially private place
Show More

Word Origin

C14: from Latin, literally: holy of holies, rendering Hebrew qōdesh haqqodāshīm
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
sanctum sanctorum in Culture

sanctum sanctorum

[(sangk-tuhm sangk-tawr-uhm)]

Latin for “holy of holies.” The place in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem (see also Jerusalem) where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. By extension, a sacred and private place.

Show More
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.