bidēns¹

Meaning

1. literallyone terminationtwo-toothed
2. figurativelyone terminationtwo-pronged

Declension

Origins

From bi- (“two-”) + dēns (“tooth”).

Related words

Meaning

1. a sheep of an age suitable for certain sacrifices; also more generally, any sheep or any sacrificial animal
   [...] mactant lēctās dē mōre bidentis, [...].[Dido and Anna] offer sacrifice — having chosen, in accordance with sacred custom, a two-toothed [sheep] — ….29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.57
   Nam quae nivali pascitur Algido devota quercus inter et ilices aut crescit Albanis in herbis victima pontificum securis cervice tinguet: te nihil attinet temptare multa caede bidentium parvos coronantem marino rore deos fragilique myrto.The victim marked out for sacrifice, that feeds on snowy Algidus among the oaks and holm oaks or grows fat in Alban pastures, will stain with its neck the pontiffs’ axes; but it is not for you to pester the little gods whom you decorate with rosemary and brittle myrtle by slaughtering numerous sheep.23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 3.23

Declension

Origins

Ellipsis of bidēns ovis f (“two-toothed sheep”), referring to a sheep of an age (typically between one and two years old) when only the two front incisors in its lower jaw have been replaced by permanent teeth, which are larger, thus standing out in contrast with the six remaining milk teeth (see this Wikipedia article). Compare also victima f and hostia f. Some ancient authors instead believed it was derived from biennis (“two-year-old”), with -d- inserted between the prefix and base and a shift of -nn- to -nt-, neither of which would be regular changes. (Some Latin prefixes, such as re- and prō-, do have variant forms ending in -d- that can appear before a vowel, as in redimō and prōdigō from emō and agō; however, this would be the only example of bid- being used for bi-.) See the quote from Aulus Gellius below, himself referencing already conflicting opinions from earlier authors; and the entry for biennis.

Meaning

1. a two-pronged agricultural tool, such as an iron hoe or mattock
   O ego, cum adspicerem dominam, quam fortiter illic versarem valido pingue bidente solum1913 translation by F. W. Cornish, J. P. Postgate, J. W. Mackail, revised by G. P. Goold Oh, could I only look on my mistress, how stoutly there with my sturdy hoe would I turn the fertile soil and follow the curved plough as a tiller of the fieldsc. 50 BCE – 19 BCE, Albius Tibullus, Elegiae 2.3.6
   Ille suam peragēbat humum, sīve ūsus arātrīHe was working the farm himself, whether there was need of a plow or a curved sickle or a two-pronged [hoe].8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.693–694

Declension

Origins

Nominalization of the adjective, perhaps by ellipsis of a phrase headed by a masculine noun such as ligō m (“mattock, hoe”). Compare tridēns m.