Wordiyofanum
Latintemple, sacred place, divinely inspired
Variants
fanumfanat
About This Root
From Latin fānum (temple, sacred place). The derivative fānāticus originally described someone "inspired by a temple" — a temple servant in a state of divine frenzy. This gives us fanatic, fanatical, and fanaticism, all carrying the sense of excessive zeal. Profane (before/outside the temple) represents the opposite — the non-sacred.