Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GENIUS LOCI
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A genius loci is the spirit of a particular place.
We took the phrase "genius loci" from Latin, and we've used it in English since the late 1500s. If you took a guess that it means "local genius," you're pretty close!
Part of speech:
"Genius loci" is a rare and formal term. Since your readers might not be able to figure out what it means from context, you could gloss it for them (explain its meaning), like the Wall Street Journal writer below does.
"The road passed through the hamlet of Preila, where the smell of zuvis, or smoked fish, a celebrated cottage industry, wafted out of lagoon-side smokehouses. The road then swung inland, into the pine forest, where I maintained an unfruitful vigil for the boar and elk that are said to roam here. As I pedaled on through the bosky, quiet terrain, I became aware of a peculiar genius loci, the spit's ephemeral sense of place."
Explain the meaning of "genius loci" without saying "guardian of a place" or "general atmosphere of a place."
Umberto Pasti gives this advice to gardeners:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
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A close opposite of GENIUS LOCI is
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