LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
proper noun · masculinethird declension

Sēmō

Sēmō m sg (genitive Sēmōnis)
Classical[ˈseː.moː]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛː.mo]

Meaning

  1. Old Latinan ancient god
  2. An epithet of Sancus

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Numen · Deus · Divus · Semo · Heros

Numen (πνεῦμα) in a wider sense is any divine being, like δαίμων; in a narrower sense it is used as a species of Deus, or ancient Divus, θεός; and for semideus, a half-god; or semo, a half-man; for which last, besides the foreign word heros, numen also is used. Plin. Pan. 2, 3. Nusquam ut deo, nusquam ut numini blandimur. (vi. 239.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeSēmō—
genitiveSēmōnis—
dativeSēmōnī—
accusativeSēmōnem—
ablativeSēmōne—
vocativeSēmō—

Sēmo, ōnis, m. probably from sēmen,
I. an ancient god that presided over the crops: SEMVNIS ALTERNEI ADVOCAPIT CONCTOS, song of the Fratres Arvales, Inscr. Orell. 2270.—As an epithet of Sancus, Ov. F. 6, 214; Liv. 8, 20; Inscr. Orell. 1860; 6999.

Origins

Traditionally related to sēmen (“seed”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-. However, Weiss dismisses any connections to semen as semantically implausible, since there is no evidence connecting the god with seeds. Osthoff and Weiss independently propose an alternative derivation from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-ó- (“powerful”) (via Proto-Italic *Seɣomō) linking Semo to Segomo (from Proto-Celtic *Segomū), a Celtic god, instead.

Quick answers

What does Sēmō mean in Latin?
Sēmō, a proper noun, means “an ancient god; An epithet of Sancus”.
What is the genitive of Sēmō?
The genitive singular is Sēmōnis. Sēmō is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce Sēmō?
In classical Latin, [ˈseː.moː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɛː.mo].