noun · neutersecond declension
faenum
faenum n (genitive faenī)
Classical[ˈfae̯.nũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈfɛː.num]
Meaning
- neuterhay
Item faenum cordum, sīcīlīmenta dē prātō, ea arida conditō.
In the same way, second-crop hay, aftermath from the meadow, store them dry.234 BCE – 149 BCE, Marcus Porcius Cato, De agri cultura 5.8Laetō pinguīque campō non dēsīderātur īnfluens rīvus, meliusque habētur faenum, quod suāpte nātūrā sūcōsō gignitur solō, quam quod inrigātum aquīs ēlicitur.
In a fertile and fat field there is no need for an inflowing stream, and the hay which is borne by its own nature in moist soil is considered better than that which is enticed, irrigated with water.4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De re rustica 2.16.3 - broadlyneuterrareany dried plant
Similis ratiō avēnae est, quae autumnō sata partim caeditur in faenum vel pābulum dum adhūc viret, partim sēminī custōdītur.
The same method is for oats, which, sown in autumn, are partially cut in hay or fodder while still green, and partially kept for seed.4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De re rustica 2.10.32Iūmentīs herba nōn alia grātior, sīve viridis sīve in fēnō siccāta et, cum dētur, adspersa aquā.
No other herb is more welcome to beasts of burden, either green or dried into hay, and besprinkled with water.77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 24.118.178 - neuterfenugreek
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | faenum | faena foena |
| genitive | faenī foenī | faenōrum foenōrum |
| dative | faenō foenō | faenīs foenīs |
| accusative | faenum | faena foena |
| ablative | faenō foenō | faenīs foenīs |
| vocative | faenum | faena foena |
faenum (less correctly fēn-, not foen-), i. n. fe-, feo; whence felix, femina, etc., Paul. ex Fest. p. 86.
I. Hay, Varr. R. R. 1, 9 sq.; Col. 2, 18; Plin. 18, 28, 67, § 258 sq.; Ov. M. 14, 645:
Judaei, quorum cophinus faenumque supellex, Juv. 3, 18; cf. id. 6, 542.—Plur., App. M. 3 fin.—Prov.: faenum alios aiebat esse oportere, i. e. seemed as stupid as oxen, Cic. de Or. 2, 57, 233: faenum habet in cornu, i. e. he is a dangerous fellow (the figure being taken from an ox apt to gore, whose horns were bound about with hay), Hor. S. 1, 4, 34.—II. Faenum (fen-) Graecum, also as one word, faenumgraecum, fenugreek, Cato, R. R. 27, 1; Col. 2, 10, 33; Plin. 18, 16, 39, § 140.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
faenum or fēnum ī, n
FEN-, hay : recens, O.: faenum alios aiebat ēsse oportere, ought to feed on hay , i. e. are stupid as oxen : faenum habet in cornu, i. e. is dangerous (as an ox whose horns were bound with hay), H.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *fēnom (“hay”), from earlier *θēnom, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)-no- (“yield”), from *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle; to nurse”); on the semantic shift, compare fecundus (“fertile”).
Insular Romance
- Sardinianfenu
- Sardinianenu
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italianfieno
- Dalmatianfin
- Istriotfen
- Venetanfjen
- Venetanfien
- Venetanfen
Borrowings
- Interlinguafeno