LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutervariously declined, second declension, first declension

balneum

balneum n (genitive balneī)
Classical[ˈbaɫ.ne.ũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈbal.ne.um]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. bath, bathing place, bathroom
    […] discus crepuit, id est pater meus in balneum transisse nuntiatus est.The gong rang, it is announced that my father is going to the bath., Another Letter from Young M. Aurelius to Fronto, quoted in 1879 by Cruttwell and Banton (editors) in Specimens of Roman Literature: Passages Illustrative of Roman Thought and Style, section 188, page 599

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

locus pūblicus ubi lavāmur; aqua calida et frīgida.
balneum -ī n — in Mille Verba, ch. Lūdī et Ōtium

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebalneumbalneae
balnea, banea
genitivebalneī
baneī		balneārum
balneōrum, baneōrum
dativebalneō
baneō		balneīs
baneīs
accusativebalneumbalneās
balnea, balneōs, banea
ablativebalneō
baneō		balneīs
baneīs
vocativebalneum
balnee		balneae
balnea, banea

balnĕum, i. n. (in plur. usu. heterocl. balnĕae, ārum. f.; cf. Varr. L. L. 8, § 48 Müll.; since the Aug. per. sometimes bal-nĕa, ōrum, n.; cf. Dör. ad Plin. Ep. 2, 8, 2) [contr. from bălĭnĕum, also in use, and in Plaut. and post-Aug. prose predominant, = βαλανεῖον; plur. bălĭnĕae; the Lat. bal-neum stands for bad-neum, kindr. with Sanscr. root bād, lavare, se lavare; Germ. Bad; Engl. bath].
I. A bath, a place for bathing (the public bath, as consisting of several apartments, only in plur., Varr. L. L. 9, § 68 Müll.; cf. aedes and aqua. Varro 1. 1. seems to assert that only the sing. was used for private baths, but this was not without exception, at least in a subsequent age; cf. Lorenz ad Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 69; Plin. 13, 3, 4, § 22; 33, 12, 54, § 153; Mart. 12, 15, 2 al.).
A. Balneum, plur. balneae, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 5; id. Pers. 1, 3, 10; Ter. Phorm. 2, 2, 25: balneae Seniae, Cic. Cael. 25, 62: balneae Palatinae, id. Rosc. Am. 7, 18; id. Clu. 51, 141; id. de Or. 2, 55, 223; Caecil. ap. Non. p. 196, 12; Vitr. 6, 8; Plin. 13, 3, 4, § 22; Tac. H. 3, 11; id. A. 15, 52: (Caesar) ambulavit in litore: post horam octavam in balneum, Cic. Att. 13, 52. 1: de structurā balnei cogitare, Pall. 1, 40, 1.—
B. Balineum, plur. balineae: balineum calfieri jubebo, Cic. Att. 2, 3 fin.; 15, 13, 5 (with the var. lect. balneo): in balineas ire, Plaut. As. 2, 2, 90; id. Rud. 2, 3, 52; id. Most. 3, 2, 69; id. Merc. 1, 2, 17: pensiles balineae, Plin. 9, 54, 79, § 168; 22, 22, 43, § 87; 32, 10, 38, § 115; 33, 12, 54, § 153; Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 11; 3, 14, 8; 8, 8, 6; 10, 75, 1; Suet. Aug. 76 Oud.; 85; 94; id. Ner. 20; 31; 35; id. Vesp. 21; id. Calig. 37; id. Galb. 10; Tac. H. 2, 16; 3, 32 al.—
C. Plur. balnea, ōrum, n., Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 92; 1, 11, 13; 1, 14, 15; id. A. P. 298; Ov. A. A. 3, 640; Liv. 23, 18, 12; Val. Max. 9, 1, 1; Sen. Ep. 86, 6; 90, 25; Cels. 1, 6; Plin. 28, 19, 77, § 248; 36, 15, 24, § 121; Juv. 1, 143; 6, 375; 6, 419; 7, 131; 7, 178; 7, 233 al.; Mart. 9, 19, 1; 10, 70, 13; 12, 50, 2; Inscr. Orell. 3324; 4816; Plin. Ep. 2, 8, 2; 7, 26, 2.—
II. In Pliny, a bath (in abstracto); esp. in the connec. a balineis, after the bath, after bathing, Plin. 28, 19 77, § 248; 13, 15, 30, § 99; 20, 14, 57, § 160; 24, 19, 118, § 181.

Origins

From Ancient Greek βαλανεῖον (balaneîon), apparently borrowed early enough for unstressed reduction of the second /a/ to /ĭ/ and then syncope.

Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchbainfrom Old French bain
  • Englishbainfrom Old French bain
  • Franco-Provençalbin
  • Walloonbagnfrom Old French bain
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanbany
  • Occitanbanh
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianbaie
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianbagno
  • Corsicanbagnu
  • Istriotbagnà
  • Neapolitanbagno
  • Neapolitanvagnu
  • Sicilianvagnu
  • Venetanbagno
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesebanhofrom Old Galician-Portuguese banno
  • Aragonesebanyo
  • Asturianbañu
  • Galicianbañofrom Old Galician-Portuguese banno
  • Old Spanishbanno
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianbagn
  • Romanshbagn
  • Romanshbogn
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardbagn
  • Lombardbagne
  • Piedmontesebagn
  • Romagnolbâgn
Borrowings
  • Albanianbanjë
  • Proto-Slavic*baňa

Quick answers

What does balneum mean in Latin?
balneum, a noun, means “bath, bathing place, bathroom”.
What is the genitive of balneum?
The genitive singular is balneī. balneum is neuter, variously declined, second declension, first declension.
How do you pronounce balneum?
In classical Latin, [ˈbaɫ.ne.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbal.ne.um].