LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

minae

minae f pl (genitive minārum)
Classical[ˈmɪ.nae̯]Ecclesiastical[ˈmiː.ne]

Meaning

  1. femininepluralprojecting points; pinnacles; battlements; parapets
  2. femininefigurativelypluralthreats; menaces; threatening perils
    [...] Quid bella Tyrō surgentia dīcam, / germānīque minās?“[And] why must I mention the war-dangers arising from Tyre, and our brother’s threats?” (Anna and Dido had taken Tyrian treasures when they fled from their murderous brother Pygmalion: Aeneid 1.340-364.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.43-44

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominative—minae
genitive—minārum
dative—minīs
accusative—minās
ablative—minīs
vocative—minae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

minis uti
to use threats.

mĭnae, ārum, f. root min-, only in Lat.; cf.: mentum, minari, and perh. mons,
I. the projecting points or pinnacles of walls (only poet.).
I. Lit.: minae murorum, Verg. A. 4, 88: moenium, Amm. 24, 2, 12; 24, 2, 19; 29, 6, 11; 20, 6, 2.—
II. Trop., threats, menaces, of animate and inanimate things (class.).
A. Of living beings: si quidem hercle Aeacidinis minis animisque expletus cedit, Plaut. As. 2, 3, 25: virtutem hominibus instituendo et persuadendo, non minis et vi ac metu tradi, Cic. de Or. 1, 58, 247: terrēre minis, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 301 Müll. (Ann. v. 261): minas jactare, to throw out threats, Cic. Quint. 14, 47: intendere alicui, Tac. A. 3, 36. —Of the threats used by cattle-drivers, Ov. P. 1, 8, 56.—Poet., of a bull: nullae in fronte minae, Ov. M. 2, 857; of a snake: tol lentemque minas, raising threats, i. e. raising himself in a threatening posture, Verg. G. 3, 421.—
B. Of inanimate things (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): aspice, quam saevas increpat aura minas, Prop. 1, 17, 6: hibernae, Tib. 2, 3, 46: ingentes parturit ira minas, Ov. H. 12, 208: caelestes minae territabant, Flor. 2, 8, 3; forebodings of misfortune, Val. Fl. 5, 342.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*men-
  2. Proto-Italic*menā
  3. Latinminae

Proto-Italic *(eks)menāder. Latin minae Derived from Proto-Italic *(eks)menā (“projection”), from *menā, from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stand out”). Compare minor, mōns, mentum.

Descendants
  • Italianmina
  • Italianmena
  • Portugueseameia
  • Spanishalmena
  • Galicianamea

Quick answers

What does minae mean in Latin?
minae, a noun, means “projecting points; pinnacles; battlements”.
What is the genitive of minae?
The genitive singular is minārum. minae is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce minae?
In classical Latin, [ˈmɪ.nae̯]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmiː.ne].
Where does minae come from?
Proto-Indo-European *men- → Proto-Italic *menā → Latin minae.