noun · neuterthird declension
bidental
bidental n (genitive bidentālis)
Classical[bɪˈdɛn.taɫ]Ecclesiastical[biˈdɛn.tal]
Meaning
- neutera bidental (place struck by lightning and consecrated by a sacrifice)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | bidental | bidentālia |
| genitive | bidentālis | bidentālium |
| dative | bidentālī | bidentālibus |
| accusative | bidental | bidentālia |
| ablative | bidentālī | bidentālibus |
| vocative | bidental | bidentālia |
bĭdental, ālis, n.; in the lang. of religion,
I. a place struck by lightning, consecrated by the haruspices, and enclosed; so called from the offering, bidens, with which the lightning was propitiated (v. also puteal), Fest. p. 27; Non. p. 53, 26; cf. O. Müll. Etrusk. 2, p. 171; v. Dict. of Antiq. (perh. it is better to explain bidens here as = fulmen, from its forked form; thus Bidental = Fulminar, the temple, or the consecrated place of lightning): triste bidental Moverit incestus, * Hor. A. P. 471; Pers. 2, 27; Sid. Carm. 9, 191; App. de Deo Socr. p. 46, 41; Inscr. Orell. 2483; cf. Luc. 1, 606; 8, 864.— The priest of a bidental:
BIDENTALIS, Inscr. Grut. 96, 5 and 6.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
bidental ālis, n
bidens, a place struck by lightning (consecrated by a sacrifice): triste, H.
Origins
From bidēns (“two-pronged, two-toothed”), the name of the offering given by the haruspices with which the lightning was propitiated; perhaps an allusion to the forked form of lightning, + -al. For the form, compare puteal (“enclosure around a well”).