Definition of "refugium" []

• An area that has escaped ecological changes occurring elsewhere and so provides a suitable habitat for relict species. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "A refugium is believed to have existed in the west of this region."
• ""The world is a big place, so why couldn't there be a refugium where a few dinosaurs limped on?" he said."
• "The public option will be your refugium (your refuge)."