LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

ieiūnus

ieiūnus (feminine ieiūna, neuter ieiūnum)
Classical[jɛjˈjuː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[jeˈjuː.nus]
ieiūne sg. voc. m.

Meaning

  1. adjectivefasting, abstinent, hungry
  2. adjectivefigurativelydry, barren, unproductive
  3. adjectivefigurativelyscanty, meager
  4. adjectiveinsignificant, trifling

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vacuus cibī, quī nihil ēdit
iēiūnus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 17

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeieiūnusieiūnaieiūnum
genitiveieiūnīieiūnaeieiūnī
dativeieiūnōieiūnaeieiūnō
accusativeieiūnumieiūnamieiūnum
ablativeieiūnōieiūnāieiūnō
vocativeieiūneieiūnaieiūnum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeieiūnīieiūnaeieiūna
genitiveieiūnōrumieiūnārumieiūnōrum
dativeieiūnīsieiūnīsieiūnīs
accusativeieiūnōsieiūnāsieiūna
ablativeieiūnīsieiūnīsieiūnīs
vocativeieiūnīieiūnaeieiūna

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

oratio exilis, ieiuna, arida, exsanguis
the dry, lifeless style.

jējūnus, a, um, adj. kindr. to Sanscr. yam, refrenare, cohibere; intens. yanyam, Bopp. Gloss. p. 276, a,
I. fasting, hungry, abstinent, not partaking of food.
I. Lit.: in scenam qui jejunus venerit, Plaut. Ps. prol. 12: sic expletur jejuna cupido, hunger, Lucr. 4, 876; so, jejuna aviditas, Plin. 10, 3, 3, § 8: misera ac jejuna plebecula, Cic. Att. 1, 16, 11: cum quidem biduum ita jejunus fuissem, ut, etc., id. Fam. 7, 26, 1: canis, Hor. Epod. 5, 23: jejuna fessaque corpora, Liv. 21, 55.—Of inanimate things: lupus jejunis dentibus acer, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 29: Cerberus jejuno sono, with hungry howlings, Prop. 4 (5), 5, 4. tam jejuna fames? so extreme, Juv. 5, 10: pullus ad quem volat mater jejuna, id. 10, 232: odium, i. e. on an empty stomach, id. 15, 51: saliva, fasting spittle, Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 35.—
2. Thirsty: vilem jejunae saepe negavit aquam, Prop. 3, 13 (4, 14), 18.—
B. Transf.
1. Dry, barren, unproductive: corpora suco jejuna, Lucr. 2, 845: ager, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 37, § 84: glarea, Verg. G. 2, 212: pars jejunior humi, Col. 2, 4, 7.—
2. Scanty, insignificant in quantity: summaque jejunā sanie infuscatur arena, Verg. G. 3, 493.—
II. Trop.
A. Poor, barren, powerless: ut quosdam nimis jejuno animo et angusto monerem uti, etc., Cic. Phil. 14, 6, 17: pusillus animus atque ipsā malevolentiā jejunus atque inanis, id. Fam. 2, 17, 7.—
B. Insignificant, trifling, contemptible, mean, low: solivaga cognitio et jejuna, Cic. Off. 1, 44, 157: frigida et jejuna calumnia, id. Caecin. 21, 61: jejunum hoc nescio quid et contemnendum, id. Fam. 15, 17: aliquid humile et jejunum, id. ib. 3, 10, 7.—
C. Of speech, meagre, dry, feeble, spiritless: si quis aut Antonium jejuniorem, aut Crassum fuisse pleniorem putet, Cic. de Or. 3, 4, 16: Theodorus, in arte subtilior, in orationibus jejunior, id. Brut. 12, 48.—With gen., Cic. Or. 40: concertatio verborum, id. de Or. 2, 16, 68; Quint. 1, 4, 5; 10, 2, 17 al.—
D. Destitute of, without, deprived of: divitiarum avidi ac jejuni, Just. 38, 6, 8: pecunia, Val. Max. 4, 4, 9.—Adv.: jējūnē, meagrely, dryly, jejunely, without ornament or spirit: jejune et exiliter disputare, Cic. de Or. 1, 11, 50; Plin. Ep. 1, 20, 20; Gell. 19, 3: agere, Cic. Ac. 2, 35, 112.—Comp.: dicere jejunius, Cic. Fin. 3, 5, 17; id. Att. 12, 21, 1.

Origins

From the earlier iaiūnus with palatal vowel assimilation, for Proto-Italic *jagjūnos, remade from Proto-Indo-European *h₁yaǵ-yu-s, from *h₁yaǵ- (“to sacrifice”).

Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesejejumfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
  • Portuguesejijumfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
  • Portuguesejumfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
  • Portugueseinjumfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
  • Spanishayuno
  • Galicianxaxúnfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
  • Galicianxexúnfrom Old Galician-Portuguese jajũu
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalandejú
  • Occitanjun
  • Occitandejun
  • Occitanjunh
  • Ribagorçandechunofrom Aragonese chechunio
Borrowings
  • Englishjejune
  • Englishjejunum
  • Portuguesejejuno
  • Spanishyeyuno
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianajun
  • Aromanianagiun
  • Aromanianagiunu
Italo-Romance
  • Italiandigiuno
  • Siciliandiciunufrom Italian digiuno
  • Neapolitandijuno
  • Neapolitandejuno
  • Neapolitandiuno
  • Neapolitanrijuno
  • Neapolitanriuno
  • Neapolitanjajuno
  • Siciliandijunu
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchjeûne
  • Franco-Provençaljon
Dalmatian
  • unknowndezun
Sardinian
  • unknowndeunu
  • unknowndeunzu
  • unknowndiunzu
  • unknowngeunu
  • unknowngiaunu
  • unknownzeunu
Padanian
  • Emiliangiun
  • Emiliandezön
  • Emiliandzon
  • Friulianzun
  • Friulianğun
  • Ligurianzazun
  • Piedmontesegiun
  • Piedmontesezazun
  • Piedmontesezazen
  • Piedmontesedigiun

In English words that came into English from ieiūnus

  • dine*disiūnō

Quick answers

What does ieiūnus mean in Latin?
ieiūnus, a adjective, means “fasting, abstinent, hungry; dry, barren, unproductive; scanty, meager”.
How do you pronounce ieiūnus?
In classical Latin, [jɛjˈjuː.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [jeˈjuː.nus].