Large rooms or buildings with many beds where groups of people sleep, commonly used in schools and colleges.
From Latin 'dormitorium' (sleeping place), from 'dormire' (to sleep) plus '-orium' (place for an action), becoming common in English in the 1700s for institutional settings.
College dormitories became crucial cultural spaces precisely because they're not private—the lack of solitude in 'dorms' creates the intense friendships and social bonding that college is famous for.
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