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Webster 1913 Edition

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Noun.

pl.

[L., fr.

penetralis

penetrating, internal. See

The recesses, or innermost parts, of any thing or place, especially of a temple or palace.

Hidden things or secrets; privacy; sanctuary;

as, the sacred

penetralia

of the home

penetralia pl ‎(plural only)

The innermost, secret or hidden parts.
The innermost parts of a building, such as a shrine, recess or a sanctuary within a temple.
- 1748, Tobias George Smollett, The Adventures of Roderick Random
  I believe, had I been in the inmost recesses of my habitation--the very penetralia--your eagerness would have surmounted bolts, bars, decency, and everything.
- 1857, Anthony Trollope, Barchester Towers, Volume the Second, page 5 (ISBN 1857150570)
  He wished to be what he called "safe" with all those whom he had admitted to the penetralia of his house and heart.

penētrālia