Meanings
plural cenacles
- A dining room, especially one on an upper floor (traditionally the room in which the Last Supper took place).First known use early 15th c.
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: […]
1992, Raniero Cantalamessa, Mary: Mirror of the Church, Liturgical Press, →ISBN, page 143 - broadlyA small circle or gathering of specialists (writers etc).
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.
1881, Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Latincēnāculum“dining room”
- Old Frenchcenacle
- Middle Englishcenacle
- Englishcenacle
From Middle English cenacle, from Old French cenacle (modern French cénacle), from Latin cēnāculum (“dining room”).
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cenacle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenacle
“cenacle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenacle. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cenacle,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cenacle.
Source: cenacle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.