ōmen
Meaning
- omen, sign, harbinger, portent, token (an object or occurrence believed to portend or predict a future event, circumstance, situation, or state of affairs)
[…] Quod omen res consecuta est; ipsa enim brevi mortua est, virgo autem nupsit, cui Caecilia nupta fuerat. Haec posse contemni vel etiam rideri praeclare intellego, sed id ipsum est deos non putare, quae ab iis significantur, contemnere.
[…] And this was a sign of what came to pass, for in a short time Caecilia died and the girl married her aunt's husband. I realize perfectly well that these omens may be lightly regarded and even be laughed at, but to make light of signs sent by the gods is nothing less than to disbelieve in the existence of the gods.45 BCE, Cicero, De divinatione 1.46.104non cedit Veiiento, sed ut fanaticus oestro / percussus, Bellona, tuo diuinat et "ingens / omen habes" inquit "magni clarique triumphi..."
Veiientus yields not, but as one inspired by the maddening / influence of the goddess Bellona, prophesies. "A mighty / token this you possess" he says "of some great and illustrious triumph..."c. 101 CE, Juvenalis, Saturae 4.123–125
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
signum futūrae reī; bonum ōmen, malum ōmen.signum reī futūraeChoosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Auguria · Auspicia · Prodigia · Ostenta · Portenta · Monstra · Omina
Auguria and auspicia are appearances in the ordinary course of nature, which for the most part possess a meaning for those only who are skilful in the interpretation of signs; auguria (from augur, αὐγάζειν) for the members of the college of augurs, who are skilled in such things; auspicia, for the magistrates, who have the right to take auspices: whereas prodigia, ostenta, portenta, monstra, are appearances out of the ordinary course of nature, which strike the common people, and only receive a more exact interpretation from the soothsayer: lastly, omina (ὄθματα, ὄσσαι) are signs which any person, to whom they occur, can interpret for himself, without assistance. The primary notion in prodigium is, that the appearance is replete with meaning, and pregnant with consequences; in ostentum, that it excites wonder, and is great in its nature: in portentum, that it excites terror, and threatens danger; in monstrum, that it is unnatural and ugly. (v. 178.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | ōmen | ōmina |
| genitive | ōminis | ōminum |
| dative | ōminī | ōminibus |
| accusative | ōmen | ōmina |
| ablative | ōmine | ōminibus |
| vocative | ōmen | ōmina |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- faustis ominibus
- with favourable omens.
- omen infaustum, triste
- an evil omen; presage of ill.
- omen accipere (opp. improbare)
- to accept as a happy omen.
- accipere, vertere aliquid in omen
- to interpret something as an omen.
- quod di immortales omen avertant! (Phil. 44. 11)
- and may heaven avert the omen! heaven preserve us from this!
- aliquid optimis ominibus prosequi (vid. sect. VI. 11., note Prosequi...)
- to wish prosperity to an undertaking.
osmen, e quo s extritum, id. ib. 7, § 97: omen velut oremen, quod fit ore augurium, quod non avibus aliove modo fit, Fest. p 195 Müll.; perh. orig. osmen, for ausmen; root audio, that which is heard; hence, in gen.. prodigium): di te deaeque omnes faxint cum istoc omine, with your forebodings, Plaut. Most. 2, 2, 33: neque solum deorum voces Pythagoraei observaverunt, sed etiam hominum, quae vocant omina, Cic. Div. 1, 45. 102: ea quae divina testimonia vocant, ex responsis, oraculis, ominibus, Quint. 5, 7, 35: mi pater, inquit (filiola L. Pauli), Persa (catellus) periit. Tum ille Accipio, inquit, mea filia, omen, I take it as a good omen (of a victory over king Perses), Cic. Div. 1, 46, 103: ingens omen magni triumphi, Juv. 4, 125: qui discedens mecum ita locutus est, ut ejus oratio omen fati videretur, Cic. Phil. 9, 4, 9: quibus Antonius (o di immortales, avertite et detestamini, quaeso hoc omen!) urbem se divisurum esse promisit, id. ib. 4, 4, 10; cf.: atque hoc quidem detestabile omen avertat Juppiter, id. ib. 11, 5, 11; id. Div. 2, 40, 83: exire malis ominibus, id. Sest. 33, 72: quam (rem) tu ipse ominibus optimis prosequeris, id. Fam. 3, 12, 2: cum bonis ominibus incipere, Liv. praef. fin.: i secundo omine, go in God's name, good luck attend you, Hor. C. 3, 11, 50: impios parrae recinentis omen Ducat, id. ib. 3, 27, 1: (Mater juvenem) Votis, ominibus et precibus vocat, id. ib. 4, 5, 13: quod di prius omen in ipsum convertant, Verg. A. 2, 190: quod acceperunt pro omine, Vulg. 3 Reg. 20, 33.—hic sceptra accipere et primos attollere fasces Regibus omen erat, Verg. A. 7, 174.—Contineant nobis omina prima fidem, Prop. 3, 20, 24 (4, 20, 14 M.).Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Origins
From Old Latin osmen, of uncertain origin, with many origins proposed: * Ancient authors derived it from ōs (“mouth”). * Derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“to see, perceive”), whence audiō and Ancient Greek οἴομαι (oíomai, “to think, believe, suppose”). * Per Beneviste and Oettinger, connected to Hittite [script needed] (hā-ᶻᶦ, “to believe, trust”) via a supposed Proto-Indo-European *h₂e/oh₃-s-mn (“trust”). De Vaan considers this semantically unconvincing. * Per De Vaan (who doubts the authenticity of the Old Latin form osmen), most likely from Proto-Italic *okʷsmn- (“sighting, omen”), from an s-present form of Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“to see; eye”) + *-men (whence -men). * An alternative theory by Meier-Brügger derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *Hoǵ-smen (“speech, what was predicted”), from an o-grade of Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵ- (“to say”) (whence aiō (“id”)). This is semantically attractive, but requires the existence of the otherwise unattested-in-Latin o-grade of aiō, as well as an atypical formation of a smen-derivative from the Proto-Indo-European perfect *He-Hoǵ-.
- Englishomen
- GermanOmen
- Dutchomen
- Norwegian Bokmålomen
- Norwegian Nynorskomen