LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

fenestra

fenestra f (genitive fenestrae)
Classical[fɛˈnɛs.tra]Ecclesiastical[feˈnɛs.tra]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininea window, an opening for light
    Haec domus quattuor fenestrās habet.This house has four windows.
  2. femininea breach
  3. femininea loophole, an arrowslit
  4. femininean orifice, inlet
  5. femininean opportunity, opening, occasion, window of opportunity

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

locus apertus in mūrō, per quem lūx et āēr in domum intrant; claudī potest.
fenestra -ae f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefenestrafenestrae
fēstrae
genitivefenestrae
fēstrae		fenestrārum
fēstrārum
dativefenestrae
fēstrae		fenestrīs
fēstrīs
accusativefenestram
fēstram		fenestrās
fēstrās
ablativefenestrāfenestrīs
fēstrīs
vocativefenestrafenestrae
fēstrae

fĕnestra, ae (also contr. festra, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 3, 12; Petr. Fragm. p. 872 Burm.; cf. Paul. ex Fest. p. 91, 6 Müll.), f. root ΦΑΝ, in φαίνω, φανερός,
I. an opening in the wall to admit the light, a window (orig. closed by two wooden shutters or by curtains, and not till the empire by sheets of mica, lapis specularis; cf. Dict. of Antiq. p. 520 sq.): neque fenestra, nisi clatrata, Plaut. Mil. 2, 4, 26: fenestras indere, id. Rud. 1, 1, 6: fenestrarum angustias quod reprehendis, Cic. Att. 2, 3, 2: bifores, Ov. P. 3, 3, 5: juncta, closed, * Hor. C. 1, 25, 1; cf. patulae, Ov. M. 14, 752: reticulatae, Varr. R. R. 3, 7, 3: se plena per insertas fundebat luna fenestras, Verg. A. 3, 152: diversas percurrens luna fenestras, Prop. 1, 3, 31 Burm. ad loc.: fenestram in arca facies, Vulg. Gen. 6, 16 et saep.—
II. Transf.
1. A loop-hole for arrows, etc.: (in turri) fenestras ad tormenta mittenda, in struendo reliquerunt, Caes. B. C. 2, 9 fin.—
2. The recess of a window: concludere in fenestram firmiter, Plaut. Cas. 1, 44.—
3. A breach made by besiegers in a wall: excisa trabe firma cavavit Robora et ingentem lato dedit ore fenestram, Verg. A. 2, 482.—
4. Of the senses, windows for intelligence: ut facile intelligi possit, animum et videre et audire, non eas partes, quae quasi fenestrae sint animi, Cic. Tusc. 1, 20, 46—
B. Poet., transf., of holes through the tips of the ears: natus ad Euphraten, molles quod in aure fenestrae Arguerint, Juv. 1, 104.—
II. Trop., an entrance, admission, opportunity, inlet, occasion (very seldom): hui quantam fenestram ad nequitiam patefeceris! Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 72: si hanc fenestram aperueritis, nihil aliud agi sinetis, Tiber. ap. Suet. Tib. 28.

Origins

Apparently from Etruscan *𐌚𐌍𐌄𐌔𐌕𐌓𐌀 (*fnestra); and fēstra from Etruscan *𐌚𐌄𐌍𐌔𐌕𐌓𐌀 (*fenstra). Compare the Etruscan personal name [script needed] (fnes-ci) and the Latin placename Fensernia, but nothing is known about the meaning of the Etruscan base.

Elsewhere
  • Englishfenestra
  • Portuguesefenestra
  • Spanishfenestra
  • Albanianfënjeshtër
  • Old Irishseinistir
  • Bretonprenestrfrom Proto-Brythonic *fenestr
  • Bretonfenestrfrom Proto-Brythonic *fenestr
  • Cornishfenesterfrom Proto-Brythonic *fenestr
  • Welshffenestrfrom Proto-Brythonic *fenestr
  • Welshffenestfrom Proto-Brythonic *fenestr
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianfereastră
  • Romanianfereastă
  • Aromanianfireastrã
  • Romanifelyastrafrom Romanian fereastră
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanfinestra
  • Occitanfenèstra
  • Franco-Provençalfenétra
  • Old Frenchfenestre
  • Gasconhrièstafrom Occitan fenèstra
  • Gasconherièstafrom Occitan fenèstra
  • Gasconhièstrafrom Occitan fenèstra
  • Gasconhiestrafrom Occitan fenèstra
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianfinestra
  • Corsicanfinestra
  • Dalmatianfiniastra
  • Neapolitanfenesta
  • Sicilianfinestra
  • Sicilianfinesra
  • Venetanfinestra
  • Venetanfenestra
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesefrestafrom Old Galician-Portuguese fẽestra
  • Aragonesefinestra
  • Asturianfeniestra
  • Galicianfiestrafrom Old Galician-Portuguese fẽestra
  • Early Modern Spanishhiniestrafrom Old Spanish finiestra
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Romanshfanestra
  • Romanshfiniastra
  • Romanshfnestra
  • Romanshfaneastra
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianfnèstra
  • Lombardfenestra
  • Lombardfinestra
  • Lombardfnestra
  • Piedmontesefnestra
  • Piedmontesefnesta

In English words that came into English from fenestra

  • defenestrationdefenestratio
  • fenestratefenestrātus
  • fenestratedfenestro
  • fenestrafenestra
  • fenestellafenestella
  • fenestronfenestra
  • fenestrulefenestrula

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesFenestraFenestra 1. A window. For the windows of Greek houses, see DOMUS p. 663 b; and for the windows of Roman houses, DOMUS p. 686 a. 2. A loophole in a tow…

Quick answers

What does fenestra mean in Latin?
fenestra, a noun, means “a window, an opening for light; a breach; a loophole, an arrowslit”.
What is the genitive of fenestra?
The genitive singular is fenestrae. fenestra is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce fenestra?
In classical Latin, [fɛˈnɛs.tra]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [feˈnɛs.tra].
Which English words come from fenestra?
English words that go back to Latin fenestra include fenestra, fenestron, defenestration, fenestrated, fenestella and fenestrule.