proper noun · femininefirst declension
Libitīna
Libitīna f sg (genitive Libitīnae)
Classical[lɪ.bɪˈtiː.na]Ecclesiastical[li.biˈtiː.na]
Meaning
- Libitina (the ancient Roman goddess of corpses, funerals and burials)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Libitīna | — |
| genitive | Libitīnae | — |
| dative | Libitīnae | — |
| accusative | Libitīnam | — |
| ablative | Libitīnā | — |
| vocative | Libitīna | — |
Lĭbĭtīna, ae, f. libet, līber,
I. the goddess of corpses, in whose temple everything pertaining to burials was sold or hired out, and where the registers of deaths were kept.
I. Lit.:
triginta funerum milia in rationem Libitinae venerunt, were registered, Suet. Ner. 39.—II. Transf.
A. The requisites for burial, the apparatus of funerals:
pestilentia tanta erat ut Libitina vix sufficeret, i. e. it was hardly possible to bury all the dead, Liv. 40, 19, 3: ne liberorum quidem funeribus Libitina sufficiebat, id. 41, 21, 6.—2. Esp., a bier, a funeral pile:
dum levis arsura struitur libitina papyro, Mart. 10, 97; Plin. 37, 3, 11, § 45.—3. The undertaker's business, the disposal of corpses:
Libitinam exercere, Val. Max. 5, 2, 10.—B. Death (poet.): multaque pars mei Vitabit Libitinam, Hor. C. 3, 30, 6; cf. id. S. 2, 6, 19:
Libitinam evadere, Juv. 14, 122; Phaedr. 4, 18 fin.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Libitīna ae, f
the goddess of corpses (in her temple were kept the funeral apparatus and the registries of death): acerba, H.—The apparatus of funerals: pestilentia tanta erat ut Libitina vix sufficeret, i. e. the dead could hardly be buried, L. —Death: vitare Libitinam, H., Iu.
Origins
Probably from Etruscan 𐌋𐌖𐌐𐌖 (lupu, “dead”).
Descendants
- EnglishLibitina