noun · femininefirst declension
mēnsa
mēnsa f (genitive mēnsae)
Classical[ˈmẽː.sa]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛn.sa]
№ 747 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- a table
- a table of food; meal, course, feast
- an altar (sacrificial table)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
tabula plāna, in quā cibus pōnitur; ad mēnsam cēnāmus.mēnsa -ae f — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
super quā cibus pōniturmēnsa -ae (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 13, 19
tabula in quā cibus pōniturmēnsa -ae (f) — in Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 12
tabula ad quam edimusmēnsa -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2
table
mēnsa -ae — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 11, 12, 13, 15, 24, 25
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | mēnsa | mēnsae mēsae |
| genitive | mēnsae mēsae | mēnsārum mēsārum |
| dative | mēnsae mēsae | mēnsīs mēsīs |
| accusative | mēnsam mēsam | mēnsās mēsās |
| ablative | mēnsā | mēnsīs mēsīs |
| vocative | mēnsa | mēnsae mēsae |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- mensae exstructae
- a table bountifully spread.
- secunda mensa (Att. 14. 6. 2)
- the dessert.
- annus (mensis, dies) intercalaris
- the intercalary year (month, day).
- mensas exquisitissimis epulis instruere (Tusc. 5. 21. 62)
- to load the tables with the most exquisite viands.
mensa, ae,
I. f [Sanscr, ma, measure; Gr. μέτρον; cf. manus, mane, etc.], a table for any purpose, as a dining-table; a market-stand for meat, vegetables, etc.; a money-dealer's table or counter, a sacrificial table, etc.
I. Lit. Of the table itself as a fabrid:
non ferre mensam nisi crebris distinctam venis, Sen. Dial. 3, 35, 5: mensa inanis nunc si adponatur mihi, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 26: cibos in mensam alicui apponere, id. Men. 1, 3, 29: surgunt a mensā saturi, poti, id. Ps. 1, 3, 62: ad mensam consistere. to wait at table, Cic. Tusc. 5, 21, 61: auferre mensam, Plaut. Truc. 2, 4, 14: apud mensam, at table, id. Trin. 2, 4, 77; Gell. 2, 22, 1; 19, 7, 2: arae vicem praestare posse mensam dicatam, Macr. S. 3, 11, 5.—II. Transf.
A. Food; a table, meal, course: quocum mensam sermonesque suos impertit, Enn. ap. Gell. 12, 4 (Ann. v. 240 Vahl.):
communicabo te semper mensā meā, Plaut. Mil. 1, 1, 51: ita mensas exstruit, id. Men. 1, 1, 25: parciore mensā uti, Tac. A. 13, 16: Italicae Syracusiaeque mensae, Cic. Tusc. 5, 35, 100: cui Quintus de mensa misit, id. Att. 5, 1, 4; so, parāsti mensam adversus eos qui tribulant me, Vulg. Psa. 23, 5: una mensa, at a single meal, Juv. 1, 138: prior, proxima mensa, the first, the second rank at table; the first or second in esteem: Raeticis uvis prior mensa erat, Plin. 14, 1, 3, § 16; id. 9, 17, 29, § 63: secunda mensa, the second course, the dessert (at which much wine was used), Cels 1, 2: haec ad te scripsi, appositā secundā mensā, during the dessert, Cic. Att. 14, 6, 2; 14, 21, 4: Agesilaus coronas secundamque mensam servis dispertiit, Nep Ages. 8, 4: secunda mensa bono stomacho nihil nocet, Cels. 1, 2, fin.: mensae tempore, meal-time, Juv. 13, 211.—B. The guests at table:
cum primum istorum conduxit mensa choragum, Suet. Aug. 70.—C. A money-changer's counter:
decem minas dum hic solvit, omnis mensas transiit, Plaut. Curc. 5, 3, 4: mensam poni jubet atque Effundi saccos nummorum, Hor. S. 2, 3, 148: nummulariorum, Vulg. Matt. 21, 12: publica, a public bank, Cic. Fl. 19, 44; id. Pis. 36, 88.—D. A butcher's table:
mensa lanionia, butcher's stall, shambles, Suet. Claud. 15.—E. Mensa lusoria, a gaming-table (late Lat.), Aug. Conf. 8, 6.—
F. A sacrificial table:
Curiales mensae, in quibus immolabatur Junoni, quae Curis est appellata, Paul. ex Fest. s. v. Curiales, p. 64 Müll.: mensae deorum, Verg. A. 2, 764: Jovis mensa, Plin. 25, 9, 59, § 105: a small altar: super tumulum statuere, Cic. Leg. 2, 26, 66.—G. The long flat part, the table, of a military engine (e. g. of a catapult), Vitr. 10, 16.—
H. A stand or platform on which slaves were exposed for sale:
servus de mensā paratus, App. M. 8, p. 213; id. Mag. 17, p. 285, 15.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
mēnsa ae, f
mensos, P. of metior, a table : ad mensam consistere, wait at table : Qui dapibus mensas onerent, V.: acernā, O.: carā piscīs avertere mensā, fishmonger's board , H.— A table, meal, course : Italicae mensae: lucis pars ultima mensae Est data, supper , O.: unā mensā, at a single meal , Iu.: secunda, an after-feast , i. e. thank-offering , V.: secundas nux ornabat mensas, dessert , H.: secundamque mensam servis dispertiit, N.: mensae tempore, meal-time , Iu.— A money-changer's counter : mensam poni iubet, H.: publica, a public bank.—A sacrificial table, alter : mensae deorum, V.: super tumulum mensam statuere.
Origins
Probably a nominalization of the feminine form of the perfect passive participle mēnsus (“measured”).
Descendants
- Englishmensa
- Frenchmense
- GermanMensa
- Italianmensa
- Occitanmensa
- Spanishmensa
- Spanishmenso
- Vulgar Latinmēsa
- Slovenemíza