cenacle

See also: cénacle

English

Etymology

From Old French cenacle (modern French cénacle), from Latin cēnāculum (“dining room”).

Noun

cenacle (plural cenacles)

1. A dining room, especially one on an upper floor (traditionally the room in which the Last Supper took place). [from early 15th c.]
   • 1992, Raniero Cantalamessa, Mary: Mirror of the Church, Liturgical Press (→ISBN), page 143:

     With Mary in the cenacle waiting for the Holy Spirit In the Acts of the Apostles after listing the names of the eleven apostles, Luke continued with these words, so precious to Christians: […]

2. (by extension) A small circle or gathering of specialists (writers etc).

   Synonyms: circle, clique

   • 1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque:

     I remember an anecdote of a well-known French theorist, who was debating a point eagerly in his cenacle. It was objected against him that he had never experienced love.