LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

exāmen

exāmen n (genitive exāminis)
Classical[ɛkˈsaː.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[eɡˈzaː.men]

Meaning

  1. swarm of bees; crowd
    examen apumA swarm of bees
  2. tongue of a balance
  3. a consideration, an examining

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

agmen apium volāns
exāmen -inis (n) — in Aeneis, ch. 17

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeexāmenexāmina
genitiveexāminisexāminum
dativeexāminīexāminibus
accusativeexāmenexāmina
ablativeexāmineexāminibus
vocativeexāmenexāmina

ex-āmen, ĭnis, n. for ex-agmen, from ex and ago; cf. contamino and contagies, flamen and flagrare.
I. A multitude issuing forth or flying out, a swarm. Primarily and class. of a swarm of bees: res rusticae laetae sunt tum pecudum pastu, apium examinibus, florum omnium varietate, Cic. de Sen. 15 fin.; so, apium, id. Off. 1, 44, 157; id. Div. 1, 33 fin.; Liv. 4, 33 et saep.; cf. Varr. R. R. 3, 16, 29; Col. 9, 3 fin.; 9, 4 fin. et saep.; Plin. 11, 10, 10, § 23; Verg. G. 2, 452; 4, 21; 103 et saep.—
B. Transf., a multitude, crowd, shoal, swarm (freq. only after the Aug. per.): locustarum, Liv. 42, 10: piscium, Plin. 31, 1, 1, § 2: pullorum (arboris), Lucr. 5, 1364: juvenum, Hor. C. 1, 35, 31: infantium, Plin. Pan. 26, 1; cf. Just. 25, 2 fin.: vernarum, Hor. Epod. 2, 65; cf. servorum, Cic. Harusp. Resp. 12, 25: Graium vatum, Stat. S. 5, 3, 284: stuprorum (i. e. feminarum stupratarum), Prop. 2, 32, 41 (3, 30, 41 M.) et saep.—In late Lat. even of abstract things: malorum, Arn. 2, p. 46: maerorum, id. fin.: aetatum, Amm. 21, 5: dilationum, id. 30, 4 et saep.—
II. A means of examining; hence, the tongue of a balance (very rare): examen est ligula vel lignum, quod mediam hastam ad pondera adaequanda tenet, Schol. Pers. 1, 6; cf. Paul. ex Fest. p. 80, 14: Juppiter ipse duas aequato examine lances Sustinet, Verg. A. 12, 725; Cod. Theod. 12, 7, 1.—
B. Trop., a weighing, consideration, examination: examenve improbum in illa Castiges trutina, Pers. 1, 6: legum, Ov. M. 9, 552; cf. vitae, Stat. S. 3, 3, 203.

Origins

From *exagmen, ex- (“out”) + agō (“to drive”) + -men (noun-forming suffix, indicating the means, instrument, or result of an action).

Elsewhere
  • Catalanexamen
  • Englishexamen
  • Frenchexamen
  • GermanExamen
  • Italianesame
  • Portugueseexame
  • Romanianexamen
  • Spanishexamen
  • Asturianesame
  • Asturianesamen
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalaneixam
  • Frenchessaim
  • Occitaneissam
  • Franco-Provençalèssem
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseenxamefrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixame
  • Spanishenjambrefrom Old Spanish ensamne
  • Aragonesexambre
  • Falaenxamifrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixame
  • Falaenxemifrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixame
  • Falainxamifrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixame
  • Galicianenxamefrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixame
  • Asturianensamefrom Old Leonese enxame
  • Asturianenxamefrom Old Leonese enxame
  • Leoneseenxamefrom Old Leonese enxame
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiansciame
  • Corsicaninsamina
  • Siciliansciamu
  • Venetansame
  • Venetansamo
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianscuam
  • Romanshsem
  • Romanshsom
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardsam
  • Piedmonteseessam
Ancient borrowings
  • Albanianshemë

In English words that came into English from exāmen

  • examinationexāminātiō
  • examineexamino
  • examenexāmen
  • examinantexaminans
  • examinateexaminatus

Quick answers

What does exāmen mean in Latin?
exāmen, a noun, means “swarm of bees; crowd; tongue of a balance”.
What is the genitive of exāmen?
The genitive singular is exāminis. exāmen is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce exāmen?
In classical Latin, [ɛkˈsaː.mɛn]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [eɡˈzaː.men].
Which English words come from exāmen?
English words that go back to Latin exāmen include examen, examine, examinant, examinate and examination.