n.
Pronunciation: ri- ' fyü-j ē - ə m
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gia \ -j ē - ə \
Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, refuge
Date: 1943
: an area of relatively unaltered climate that is inhabited by plants and animals during a period of continental climatic change (as a glaciation) and remains as a center of relict forms from which a new dispersion and speciation may take place after climatic readjustment