Vivaria

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A structure or facility designed for the care and display of living organisms, particularly in research or educational settings
2. Environments created to foster the growth and observation of plants or animals in controlled conditions
3. Spaces that simulate natural habitats for the purpose of studying biology and ecology through live specimens

Etymology: "Vivaria" is the plural of "vivarium," an enclosure for keeping living animals, and the Latin it comes from is built from two plain parts. The first is "vīvus," meaning "alive" or "living," and the second is the suffix "-ārium," which turns a noun into a word for a place or container associated with it. A "vīvārium" was therefore literally a place for living things, and English borrowed the word directly from Latin. Because the Latin is so transparent, the word's meaning has stayed close to its origin. It names an enclosure for keeping living creatures, whether a glass tank for reptiles or a fenced area for wildlife, so the English form carries its original sense almost unchanged. The plural "vivaria" simply keeps the Latin ending of the second declension, a pattern English often retains for borrowed words of this kind.