sacellum

English

A view of the sacellum of the Anaunia Martyrs in the Basilica of San Simpliciano, Milan, Italy.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sacellum.

Noun

sacellum (plural sacella)

1. A small chapel, as a monument within a church.
2. (historical) In Ancient Rome, a shrine open to the sky, sometimes used for sacrificial purposes, or in honor of the divine.

Latin

Etymology

From sacrum (“a sacred place”) +‎ -lus (diminutive suffix), from the neuter of sacer (“sacred, holy”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /saˈkel.lum/, [s̠äˈkɛlːʲʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /saˈt͡ʃel.lum/, [säˈt͡ʃɛlːum]

Noun

sacellum n (genitive sacellī); second declension

1. A sanctuary dedicated to a deity, usually open to the sky

   Synonyms: dēlūbrum, templum, fānum, āra

2. A chapel

   Synonym: aedicula

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sacellum	sacella
Genitive	sacellī	sacellōrum
Dative	sacellō	sacellīs
Accusative	sacellum	sacella
Ablative	sacellō	sacellīs
Vocative	sacellum	sacella

Related terms

• sacer

Descendants

• Italian: sacello
• English: sacellum

References

• “sacellum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sacellum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sacellum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• sacellum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “sacellum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “sacellum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin