proper nounfirst declension
Rū̆mīna
Rū̆mīna or Rūmina f sg (genitive Rū̆mīnae or Rūminae)
Classical[ruːˈmiː.na]Ecclesiastical[ruˈmiː.na]
Meaning
- RomanRumina (goddess of nursing mothers)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Rū̆mīna | — |
| genitive | Rū̆mīnae | — |
| dative | Rū̆mīnae | — |
| accusative | Rū̆mīnam | — |
| ablative | Rū̆mīnā | — |
| vocative | Rū̆mīna | — |
Rūmīna (in some MSS. Rūmĭa), ae,f. rumis, qs. she that offers her breast,
I. a Roman goddess of nursing mothers, who was worshipped in a separate temple near the fig-tree under which Romulus and Remus had sucked the breast (rumis) of the shewolf, Varr. R. R. 2, 11, 5; id. ap. Non. 167, 30 sq. (v. the passages under rumis); Aug. Civ. Dei, 4, 11; 6, 19 fin.; 7, 11.—Hence,
A. Rūmīnālis, e, adj.:
ficus, the fig-tree of Romulus and Remus, Liv. 1,4,5 (where,from a false etymology, the earlier form is said to have been Rumularis, Weissenb. ad loc.; cf. Serv. Verg. A. 8, 90: alii a Romulo velint dictam quasi Romularem); Tac. A. 13, 58; Aur. Vict. Orig. 20 fin.; Fest. p. 270 Müll.; cf. id. p. 400 ib.; Serv. 1. 1.; Varr. L. L. 5, § 54 Müll.—By poet. license, it is also called, B. Rūmĭna ficus, Ov. F. 2, 412 (where, as above in Liv., from a false etymology, a pretended older form, Romula, is given).
Rūmĭna, ficus, v. 1. Rumina, B.
Origins
Seemingly from rumis (“teat, nipple, breast”) + -īna, i.e. the feminine of Rū̆mīnus. The form seems to have been affected by analogy. As the tree named after the goddess (the Ficus Ruminalis) was associated with Romulus and Remus, the name was supposed in ancient times to be derived from a form like *Rōmula (see Rōma). Another potential source of influence would be rūmen (“throat”).