I would like to find a good Latin word for "living room". I know some options, but my list might not be complete and I am not sure what is the best choice. It may well be that different words are needed for different kinds of living rooms.
How would you translate "living room" to Latin and why? Would you use the same word (or longer phrase) for all kinds of living rooms, or are different words better in different situations?
Here are my suggestions with some commentary:
- Conclave: This is a good overall word for "room". It has the tone of "something that can be locked up". I think it is a good general word for "room", but it alone does not mean "living room".
- Atrium: Has the meaning of "main room", but also the tone of "entrance". If many other rooms are accessed through the living room, I would be tempted to use this word.
- Aula: Sounds overly grandiose. Feels more like "inner court" than "living room" to me.
- Cella: Sounds more like "chamber" or "small room" than "living room" to me. Could work with an added adjective.
- Habitatio: This means "dwelling". It comes from the verb habitare, which conveys the meaning of a "living room" nicely. This is the translation suggested in my Finnish–Latin–Finnish dictionary.
- Adjectives: Perhaps it would be best to use an adjective. We use two words in English, too. Something like conclave habitativum surely gets the point across, but something sounds fishy.
This question arose in connection with my answer to this earlier question about leaving a room.