LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

ieiūnus

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

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].