Definition of genius loci in English:
genius loci
noun ˈlɒkiːˈləʊsʌɪˈjēnēəs ˈlōsī
1The prevailing character or atmosphere of a place.
Example sentencesExamples
- The lure of money has typically overcome the genius loci that might otherwise have protected the city's sites of catastrophe and loss.
- The objective was to find the genius loci of a place and in Lasdun's words ‘the soul of the building’.
- The first addresses the question of how to preserve, respect or regenerate genius loci under fast changing conditions.
- We can learn a ton about baseball while feeling both the spine shivers of contact with ‘holy’ items and the touch of genius loci, the magic of real and special places.
- Having visited his bare-bones Tribeca studio with its funky, timbered two-story space, I've gotten a sense of the genius loci of Georges's recent art.
- 1.1 The presiding god or spirit of a place.
Example sentencesExamples
- She supposes that, in earlier times, ‘every tree, every spring, every stream, every hill had its own genius loci, its guardian spirit’.
Origin
Latin, literally 'spirit of the place'.