LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

forāmen

forāmen n (genitive forāminis)
Classical[fɔˈraː.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[foˈraː.men]

Meaning

  1. Classical Latinrarean opening or aperture produced by boring; a hole
    Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem intrare in regnum DeiIt is easier for a camel to pass through a needle's opening, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of GodBiblia Sacra Vulgata, Marcus X:25
  2. Late Latinan opening, hole, cave

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeforāmenforāmina
genitiveforāminisforāminum
dativeforāminīforāminibus
accusativeforāmenforāmina
ablativeforāmineforāminibus
vocativeforāmenforāmina

fŏrāmen, ĭnis, n. id.,
I. an opening or aperture produced by boring, a hole (rare but class.): neque porta neque ullum foramen erat, qua posset eruptio fieri, outlet, Sisenn. ap. Non. 113, 27: foramina parietum et fenestrarum, Col. 9, 15, 10: inventa sunt in eo (scuto) foramina CCXXX., * Caes. B. C. 3, 53, 4: tibia tenuis simplexque foramine pauco, Hor. A. P. 203; Ov. M. 4, 122: alii (scarabei) focos crebris foraminibus excavant, Plin. 11, 28, 34, § 98: foramina illa, quae patent ad animum a corpore (shortly before, viae quasi quaedam sunt ad oculos, ad aures perforatae; and: quasi fenestrae sint animi), * Cic. Tusc. 1, 20, 47. —
II. Transf. in gen., an opening, hole, cave (late Lat.): petrae, Vulg. Exod. 33, 22; id. Jer. 13, 4.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-der. Latin forō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Italic *-mn̥ Latin -men Latin forāmen From forō (“to pierce or bore”) + -men (noun-forming suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalanforat
  • Englishforamen
  • Italianforame
  • Portugueseburaco
  • Portugueseforame
  • Portugueseforâmen
  • Romanianforamen
  • Spanishforamen
  • Asturianfurame
  • Asturianfuracu

In English words that came into English from forāmen

  • foramenforāmen
  • foraminatedforaminatus
  • foraminalforāmen
  • foraminateforāminātus

Quick answers

What does forāmen mean in Latin?
forāmen, a noun, means “an opening or aperture produced by boring; a hole; an opening, hole, cave”.
What is the genitive of forāmen?
The genitive singular is forāminis. forāmen is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce forāmen?
In classical Latin, [fɔˈraː.mɛn]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [foˈraː.men].
Which English words come from forāmen?
English words that go back to Latin forāmen include foramen, foraminal, foraminated and foraminate.