Scriptorium

//skɹɪpˈtɔː.ɹɪəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A room set aside for the copying, writing, or illuminating of manuscripts and records, especially such a room in a monastery. countable

    "The rules of the scriptorium varied in different monasteries, but artificial light was forbidden for fear of injury to the manuscripts, and silence was always enforced."

  2. 2
    a room in a monastery that is set aside for writing or copying manuscripts wordnet

Example

More examples

"The rules of the scriptorium varied in different monasteries, but artificial light was forbidden for fear of injury to the manuscripts, and silence was always enforced."

Etymology

From Medieval Latin scrīptōrium, from Latin scrīptōrius (“pertaining to writing”). Doublet of escritoire.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.