Wikipedia
In ancient Roman religion, a lucus is a sacred grove.
Lucus was one of four Latin words meaning in general "forest, woodland, grove" (along with nemus, silva, and saltus), but unlike the others it was primarily used as a religious designation. Servius defines the lucus as "a large number of trees with a religious significance," as distinguished from the silva, a natural forest, and a nemus, an arboretum that is not consecrated. A saltus usually implied a wilderness area with varied topographical features.
A lucus was a cultivated place, more like a wooded park than a forest, and might contain an aedes, a building that housed the image of a god, or other landscaped features that facilitated or gave rise to ritual. It has been conjectured, for instance, that the Lupercal, referred to as a "cave," was a small lucus with an artificial grotto, since archaeology has uncovered no natural cave in the area.
Apuleius records that "when pious travelers happen to pass by a sacred grove (lucus) or a cult place on their way, they are used to make a vow ( votum), or a fruit offering, or to sit down for a while." What the Romans understood by religio lay in these ritual gestures, and not in contemplation.
Usage examples of "lucus".
He passed quickly through what Jack called the rose-garden - lucus a non lucendo - through the shrubbery to the edge of the hill and there below him on a broad meadow was a game of cricket all laid out, the fielders in their places, keenly attentive to the bowler as he went through his motions, the sound of the stroke again, the batsmen twinkling between the wickets, fielders darting for the ball, tossing it in, and then the whole pattern taking shape again, a formal dance, white shirts on the green.
Luci smiled back at Allison, but there was a trace of worry in the green eyes.
If Gina and Luci were any indication of the kind of vampire Amazons she was up against, Allison would have been more than happy to put off meeting Miriam.
Luci moved closer to the bed, smiling, with her shimmering white-blond hair falling over her naked shoulder and making her look like the Angel Allison had first mistaken her to be.
Luci had picked out for her: Slit-to-the-thigh hip-hugger jeans and a plunging-to-the-belly-button sequined top and shoes that would make a podiatrist cream his shorts, Allison folded her arms over her breasts and squinted at the man gaping up at Gypsy.
For a while after Peter Garvey was convicted and sent to prison for killing Luci, I thought I might succeed in putting the awful experience behind me.
What follows are the exercises in physical description Judy read to me yesterday, unorganized phrases and lists of details describing Peter Garvey, as if Luci were trying to shock herself.
Nell'atrio della ditta le luci erano accese, così Harry parcheggiò la macchina, infilandosi nell'unico spazio disponibile e imprecando quando strisciò con la fiancata contro un recipiente per i rifiuti in cemento.
L'intensità delle luci illuminò la faccia dietro la sua faccia e quella vista insieme con la miracolosa trasformazione di Fletcher l'attirarono più vicina al fuoco del dovuto.
Di conseguenza, mamma ora possiede un pezzo di proprietà californiana da tre milioni di dollari con una cucina tutta elettrica, tappeti da muro a muro, spogliatoi con specchi, annaffiatoi automatici per giardini, fotoelettriche per accendere automaticamente, al crepuscolo, le luci esterne.
The driver of the grader was Harlan Moffit, and he lived in Eagle's Roost with his wife, Cindi -- with an i -- and his daughters, Luci and Nanci -each of those with an i as well-- and Cindi worked for the Livestock cooperative, whatever that was.
He supposed he wanted to be the one to lay down the fuse because of Cindi and Luci and Nanci, because of all his neighbors in Eagle's Roost too, because the sight of that thing had made him realize how much he loved them, more than he'd ever thought.
Erano riusciti a girare un breve filmato pieno di luci e colori tremuli, una serie bizzarra di inquadrature statiche che, si auguravano, avrebbero agito sul subconscio dell'osservatore provocandogli uno stato allucinatorio.
Le luci che già l'avevano abbagliata in anticamera erano ancora più forti in quella stanza, anche se non ne vedeva la fonte.
He passed quickly through what Jack called the rose-garden - lucus a non lucendo - through the shrubbery to the edge of the hill and there below him on a broad meadow was a game of cricket all laid out, the fielders in their places, keenly attentive to the bowler as he went through his motions, the sound of the stroke again, the batsmen twinkling between the wickets, fielders darting for the ball, tossing it in, and then the whole pattern taking shape again, a formal dance, white shirts on the green.