noun · neuterthird declension
carmen1
carmen n (genitive carminis)
Classical[ˈkar.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[ˈkar.men]
№ 254 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- neuterpoeticusuallysong, tune
- neutera composition in verse, a poem; poetry, verse, song
mīlle dea est operum: certē dea carminis illa est;
She is the goddess of a thousand crafts: Certainly she is the goddess of song; if I am deserving, may she be present, as a friend to my endeavors. (Ovid concludes 26 lines honoring the festival of Minerva with his own prayer to the goddess; see also Athena.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.833–834 - neuterpoem, poetry (strictly any poem or poetry that can be sung), verse (esp. lyric or epic verse)
- neuterincantation, charm, spell
Haec sē carminibus prōmittit solvere mentēs quās velit, ast aliīs dūrās immittere cūrās, [...].
“[This enchantress] vows by her spells to loosen the hearts of those she wills, but to inflict harsh cares upon others, ….”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.487–488 - neuterplay, playing (of music)
Carmina Burana
Songs of Beuern - neuterprayer (refers to prayers being composed in verse)
- neuterformula (refers to the formula of verse found in ancient prayers or magical spells)
- neuteroracle (infrequent but used to refer to the poetic form in which prophecies were spoken)
- neuterritual (involving verse)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
verba quae canuntur; poētae carmina faciunt.carmen -inis n — in Mille Verba, Artēs et Litterae
hīc: versūs in saxō scrīptīcarmen -inis (n) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 5
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Canere · Cantare · Psallere · Canticum · Cantilena · Carmen · Poema · Poeta · Vates
1. Canere (from καναχεῖν) means, in the most general sense, to make music, voce, tibiis, fidibus, like μέλπειν; cantare, with vocal music, like ἀείδειν; psallere, with instrumental music, and indeed with string-instruments, like ψάλλειν. 2. Cantica and cantilenæ are only songs adapted for singing, in which, as in popular ballads, the words and melodies are inseparable, and serve to excite mirth and pleasure, in opp. to speech, and that which is spoken; and, indeed, canticum means a favorite piece, still in vogue; cantilena, a piece which, being generally known, has lost the charm of novelty, and is classed with old songs; whereas carmina and poemata are poems which may be sung, but the words of which claim value as a work of art, and serve religion or music as an art, in opp. to prose and real truth; carmina, indeed, were originally religious hymns, ἐπῳδαί, and, in a wider sense, poems of another sort, mostly, however, minor poems, and of a lyrical sort, like ᾠδαι; but poemata are the products of cultivated art, and extensive poems, mostly of the epic or tragic sort, like ποιήματα. The carmen (κάρω, κράζω) is the fruit of natural, but the poema of calm and self-conscious inspiration. 3. Poeta is a technical expression, and denotes a poet only as an artist; vates (ἠχέτης) is an old Latin and religious expression, and denotes a poet as a sacred person. Tac. Dial. 9. (v. 99.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | carmen | carmina |
| genitive | carminis | carminum |
| dative | carminī | carminibus |
| accusative | carmen | carmina |
| ablative | carmine | carminibus |
| vocative | carmen | carmina |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- carmen epicum
- epic poetry.
- carmen recitare
- to read a piece of verse with expression.
- carmen inconditum
- a rough poem; an extempore effusion.
- carmen pronuntiare
- to recite a piece of verse (without gestures).
- carmen, versum agere
- to recite a poem, line with appropriate action.
- carmen chori, canticum
- a choric ode in a tragedy.
- praeire verba (carmen) (Liv. 31. 17)
- to read prayers for the congregation to repeat.
- carmina , versus fundere (De Or. 3. 50)
- to write poetry with facility.
carmen, ĭnis, n. (old form cas-men, Varr. L. L. p. 86 Bip.) [Sanscr. çasto declaim, praise; cf.: camilla, censeo],
I. a tune, song; poem, verse; an oracular response, a prophecy; a form of incantation (cf.: cano, cantus, and canto).
I. In gen., a tune, song, air, lay, strain, note, sound, both vocal and instrumental (mostly poet.; in prose, instead of it, cantus; cf.
also versus, numeri, modi): carmen tuba ista peregit ( = sonus), Enn. Ann. 508 Vahl.: carmine vocali clarus citharāque Philammon, Ov. M. 11, 317; cf. vocum, id. ib. 12, 157: per me (sc. Apollinem) concordant carmina nervis, id. ib. 1, 518; cf. id. ib. 11, 5; 5, 340: solaque culminibus ferali carmine bubo Saepe queri, Verg. A. 4, 462; so id. G. 4, 514; Ov. M. 10, 453: cygnorum, id. ib. 5, 387; cf. id. ib. 14, 430; Mart. 13, 77: citharae liquidum carmen, Lucr. 4, 981; cf. id. 2, 506; Hor. C. 1, 15, 15: lyrae carmen, Prop. 2, 1, 9 Hertzb.: canere miserabile carmen, Ov. M. 5, 118: harundineum, id. Tr. 4, 1, 12: socialia carmina, id. H. 12, 139: barbaricum, id. M. 11, 163.—With allusion to playing on the cithara: hoc carmen hic tribunus plebis non vobis sed sibi intus canit, Cic. Agr. 2, 26, 68; cf. Aspendius.—Also the sound of waves, Claud. Cons. Mall. Th. 319; cf. Auct. Aetn. 295.—II. Esp., a composition in verse, a poem; poetry, verse, song, whether in a broader sense, of every kind of poetic production, epic, dramatic, lyric (opp. to prose and to cantus, the melody), or, in a more restricted sense, for lyric poetry.
A. Cum hanc felicitatem non prosa modo multi sint consecuti sed etiam carmine, Quint. 10, 7, 19; cf. id. 1, 8, 2; 8, 6, 27; 10, 1, 95:
perspicuum est, et cantus (melodies) tum fuisse rescriptos vocum sonis et carmina (words), Cic. Tusc. 4, 2, 3; id. de Or. 2, 8, 34; 3, 51, 197: carminibus cum res gestas coepere poetae Tradere, Lucr. 5, 1444: Maeonii carminis alite, Hor. C. 1, 6, 2: epicum carmen, Quint. 10, 1, 62: heroici sublimitas, id. 1, 8, 5; cf. Prop. 3 (4), 3, 16. Iliacum, Hor. A. P. 129: historia quodammodo carmen solutum, Quint. 10, 1, 31: Pierium, Lucr. 1, 946; 4, 21: tragicum, Hor. A. P. 220: carmina Livi, id. Ep. 2, 1, 69; cf. Tac. A. 11, 13: Saliorum carmina, Varr. L. L. 3, 26; 9, 61; Quint. 1, 6, 40; Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 86 Schmid.; cf. Liv. 1, 20, 4 al.: lyricorum carmina, Quint. 9, 4, 53; Prop. 4 (5), 6, 32. Aeolium, Hor. C. 3, 30, 13: Lydis remixto carmine tibiis, id. ib. 4, 15, 30; cf. id. Epod. 9, 5: carmen funebre proprie Naenia, Quint. 8, 2, 8: carmina quae in Phaeacum epulis canuntur, Cic. Brut. 18, 71; cf. id. ib. 19, 75: lascivum, Quint. 9, 4, 108: obscena, satirical, abusive poems, libels, Prop. 1, 16, 10; the same: famosum, Hor. Ep. 1, 19, 31 Schmid.: malum, id. ib. 2, 1, 153; id. S. 2, 1. 82 Heind.: obliquum, Stat. S. 1, 2, 27: probrosum, Tac. A. 4, 31; cf.: si quis carmen condidisset quod infamiam faceret flagitiumve alteri, Cic. Rep. 4, 10, 12; and Fragm. XII. Tab. 8, 1, ap. Wordsw. Fragm. and Spec. p. 259 sq.; Fischer ad Cic. Tusc. 4, 2, 4.—Phrases: canere, Cic. Brut. 18, 71; Liv. 1, 20, 4 al.: cantare cui, Hor. C. 3, 1, 4: cantitare, Cic. Brut. 19, 75: CONDERE, XII. Tab. ap. Cic. Rep. 4, 10, 12; Lucr. 5, 1; Hor. S. 2, 1, 82; id. A. P. 436: contexere, Cic. Cael. 8, 18: disponere, Lucr. 3, 420: pangere, id. 1, 934; 4, 9: fingere, Hor. C. 4, 2, 32; id. Ep. 2, 1, 227; id. A. P. 331: dicere, id. C. 4, 12, 10; id. C. S. 8: dictare, id. S. 1, 10, 75; id. Ep. 2, 1, 110: docere, id. C. 2, 19, 1: ad umbilicum adducere, id. Epod. 14, 7: deducere ad sua tempora, Ov. M. 1, 4: fundere, Cic. Tusc. 1, 26, 64: componere ad lyram, Quint. 1, 10, 29; cf. id. 11, 2, 11.—B. Esp.
1. In a restricted sense for lyric or epic poetry:
carmine tu gaudes, hic delectatur iambis, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 59 Schmid.; cf.: carmina compono, hic elegos, id. ib. 2, 2, 91: amabile carmen, i. e. a love poem or song, id. ib. 1, 3, 24.—And opp. to the drama for an epic or lyric poem: fabula, quae versatur in tragoediis atque carminibus, Quint. 2, 4, 2.—2. A part of a great epic poem, a book, canto:
in primo carmine, Lucr. 6, 937. —3. A poetic inscription:
et tumulum facite et tumulo superaddite carmen: Daphnis ego, etc., Verg. E. 5, 42; id. A. 3, 287; Ov. M. 14, 442; id. F. 3, 547 al.—4. A response of an oracle, a prophecy, prediction:
ultima Cumaei venit jam carminis aetas, Verg. E. 4, 4; so Ov. M. 6, 582; Liv. 1, 45, 5; 23, 11, 4; 25, 12, 4; 29, 10, 6; 38, 45, 3; Tac. A. 3, 63; 4, 43; 6, 12 al.—5. A magic formula, an incantation: MALVM, Fragm. XII. Tab. ap. Plin. 28, 2, 4, § 17; cf.
Fragm. XII. Tab. 8, 1, a. ap. Wordsw. Fragm. and Spec. p. 260: polleantne aliquid verba et incantamenta carminum, Plin. 28, 2, 3, § 10: carmina vel caelo possunt deducere lunam; Carminibus Circe socios mutavit Ulixi, Verg. E. 8, 69 sq.; so id. A. 4, 487; Hor. Epod. 5, 72; 17, 4; id. S. 1, 8, 19; Prop. 2 (3), 28, 35; Ov. M. 7, 137; 14, 58; Quint. 7, 3, 7; Tac. A. 2, 69; 4, 22 al.—6. On account of the very ancient practice of composing forms of religion and law in Saturnian verse, also a formula in religion or law, a form:
diro quodam carmine jurare, Liv. 10, 38, 10; 10, 41, 3; 31, 17, 9; 1, 24, 6 and 9; Plin. 28, 2, 3, § 12: cruciatus carmina, Cic. Rab. Perd. 4, 13; cf. id. Mur. 12, 26: lex horrendi carminis erat: duumviri perduellionem judicent, etc., of a dreadful form, Liv. 1, 26, 6: rogationis carmen, id. 3, 64, 10.—7. Moral sentences composed in verses:
Appii Caeci carmen, Cic. Tusc. 4, 2, 4; cf.: liber Catonis qui inscriptus est Carmen de moribus, Gell. 11, 2, 2: ut totum illud, VTI. LINGVA. NVNCVPASSIT., non in XII. tabulis, sed in magistri carmine scriptum videretur, Cic. de Or. 1, 57, 245: necessarium, id. Leg. 2, 23, 59.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
carmen inis, n
1 CAS-, a song, poem, verse, oracular response, prophecy, form of incantation, tune, air, lay, strain, note, sound (vocal or instrumental): canentes carmina, L.: Carmine vocali clarus, O.: lyrae, Pr.: per me concordant carmina nervis, O.: ferale, V.: cygnorum, O.: citharā carmina divides, H.: barbaricum, O. — Esp., a composition in verse, poem, poetry, verse, song: cantūs et carmina, melodies and words: Maeonii carminis alite, H.: tragicum, H.: carmina Livi, H.: Lydis remixto carmine tibiis, H.: famosum, abusive, H.: canere, to compose: pueris canto, H.: condere, H.: contexere: fingere, H.: docere, H.: ad umbilicum adducere, H. — Lyric poetry: Carmine tu gaudes, hic delectatur iambis, H.: Carmina compono, hic elegos, H. — A poetic inscription: carminibus templorum aditūs exornare: tumulo superaddite carmen, V.—A passage from a poem, poetical extract: audiens tam grande carmen: Euripideum illud.—An oracular response, prophecy, prediction: Cumaeum, V.: in libris Sibyllinis, L.—A charm, incantation: Carminibus Circe socios mutavit Ulixi, V.: veneficae Scientioris, H.: Auxiliare, O.—A form of speech, ceremonial phrase, formula (in religious or legal observances): quae (verba) longo effata carmine, L.: diro quodam carmine iurare, L.: cruciatūs carmina: lex horrendi carminis erat, of a dreadful form, L.: Appii Caeci carmen, a proverbial saying: magistri, a school-task for the memory: sacrum, L.
Origins
According to Varro its earlier form was *casmen. From Proto-Indo-European *ḱens- (“to speak in a florid, solemn style, attest, witness”). Cognate to Sanskrit शस्मन् (śásman, “hymn, laud, invocation, eulogy, recited verse”). Further cognate to Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌶𐌾𐌰𐌽 (hazjan, “to praise”), Old English herian (“to praise, extol, commend”). See Camēna, Casmēna. Compare Latin Casmenae. Sometimes referred to Proto-Italic *kanmen, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂nmn̥, from *keh₂n- (“to sing”) (whence canō (“to sing, chant”)), as with germen for *genmen.
Descendants
- Frenchcharme
- Englishcharmfrom French charme
- Italiancarme
- Portuguesecarme
- Spanishcarmen
- Franco-Provençalcharmen
- Basquexarmafrom French charme
- Siciliancarminu