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)
- (possibly) a type of southernwood with a golden or bloodred flower (as if referring to the blood of Adonis)
- (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