adonium

Latin

Alternative forms

(type of meter): adōnidium

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἀδώνιος (Adṓnios, “of Adonis”) and Ἄδωνις (Ádōnis, “Adonis”). The meaning referring to a plant is a misreading in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis Historia. The meaning referring to meter, μέτρον (métron, “meter”) Ἀδώνιον (Adṓnion), reportedly named for its use in the festival of Adonis.

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /aˈdoː.ni.um/, [äˈd̪oːniʊ̃ˑ]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /aˈdo.ni.um/, [äˈd̪ɔːnium]

Noun

adōnium n (genitive adōniī or adōnī); second declension

(botanical)
1. (possibly) a type of southernwood with a golden or bloodred flower (as if referring to the blood of Adonis)
2. (possibly) a method of gardening
(grammar, meter, verse) a Adonic verse, a verse composed of a dactyl and spondee

Usage notes

The precise meaning of adōnium as a botanical term is uncertain, though multiple meanings have been proposed.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	adōnium	adōnia
Genitive	adōniī adōnī¹	adōniōrum
Dative	adōniō	adōniīs
Accusative	adōnium	adōnia
Ablative	adōniō	adōniīs
Vocative	adōnium	adōnia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

References

“adōnium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
adonium in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
adonium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette