What does vivary mean?
Vivary is an archaic English noun denoting a place of refuge, especially for someone seeking shelter or sanctuary. In older usage it could also refer to an aquarium, an enclosed body of water in which aquatic creatures are kept. The word now appears chiefly in dictionaries and historical texts rather than in contemporary speech. Its connection with Latin vīvārium, originally an enclosure for living things, explains the older aquarium sense. The refuge sense reflects the word's historical development as a term for a place of safety or protection. Because vivary is no longer ordinary English, writers should normally use sanctuary, refuge, or haven instead. It remains useful to readers encountering it in older literature and for recognizing its relationship to related Latin-derived words such as vivarium, vivacious, and vitality.
nounAn archaic noun for a place of refuge or sanctuary. In an older sense, it also denotes an aquarium or enclosed place in which aquatic creatures are kept.
- A place of refuge; a sanctuary.
- An aquarium or enclosed place in which aquatic animals are kept.
"The fugitive sought a vivary where he might remain in safety."
"The outlaw believed that the church would grant him a vivary from those pursuing him."
"The nineteenth-century vivary displayed several species of river fish in separate tanks."
The regular plural changes the final y to ies.
"Historical dictionaries occasionally list vivaries among archaic terms for places of refuge."
A vivary sounds like a sanctuary for the living—and in one old sense, it really was: an aquarium.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vivary
Vivary entered English through Old French and medieval Latin, ultimately from Latin vīvārium, an enclosure, park, or garden associated with living things and derived from vīvus, “alive.” Its English senses include a place of refuge or sanctuary and, in an older usage, an aquarium.
How vivary is actually used
Archaic and now rare; the aquarium sense is especially obsolete. In contemporary English, sanctuary, refuge, and haven are the usual substitutes.