sanctum sanctorum
- noun
- /ˈsæŋktəm sæŋˈtɔrəm/
- Literature
:
santo de los santos
- In the Jewish Temple, the sanctum sanctorum housed the Ark of the Covenant.
Examples
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For the high priest, access to the sanctum sanctorum was allowed only once a year.
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Visitors were not permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient temple.
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The manuscript was kept in the sanctum sanctorum of the library, away from public view.
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The sanctum sanctorum was a place of great reverence.
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In the Jewish Temple, the sanctum sanctorum housed the Ark of the Covenant, making it the holiest site in Judaism.
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Visitors were not permitted to enter the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient temple, as it was reserved for the high priest.
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For the high priest, access to the sanctum sanctorum was allowed only once a year during the Day of Atonement.
Synonyms
13
8.7
A holy place where people go to worship or pray
1
9.9
The innermost sacred room of the ancient Jewish Temple where the Ark was kept
1
9.9
A special place in a church where people keep holy objects
Most holy inner part of a very old temple where only priests can go
How Sacred
Surface Forms
Morphology
sanctum + sanctorum
This is a fixed Latin phrase borrowed into English; the second element ('sanctorum') is not a familiar English word and the genitive plural morphology is not accessible to a B1 learner, so the precise meaning ('innermost most sacred place') cannot be derived from the parts. Although 'sanctum' suggests a private or sacred space, the full idiomatic sense and superlative force of the expression are language-specific and therefore not transparently predictable.
Etymology
Sanctum sanctorum, from the Latin words sanctum and sanctorum, originally named the temple's innermost chamber where the Ark was kept. Only the high priest could go there, so it was the 'most sacred place'.