adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
serēnus
serēnus (feminine serēna, neuter serēnum, adverb serēnē)
Classical[sɛˈreː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[seˈrɛː.nus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectiveClear, fair, bright, serene, tranquil.
- adjectiveThat clears the sky or brings fair weather.
- adjectivefigurativelyCheerful, glad, joyous, bright; clear, fair, calm, placid, serene
‘[...] Quae causa indigna serēnōs / foedāvit voltūs? [...].’
“‘What shameful cause disfigured your serene face?’” (Aeneas dreams he is speaking to the dead and disfigured Hector. The Latin plural “serenos voltus,” here translated as English singular, implies a heroic character which projects steadfast calm despite changing circumstances.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 2.285–286
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
clārus et sine nūbibus; caelum serēnum.serēnus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs
clārus, sine nūbibusserēnus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 14
pūrus, sine nūbibusserēnus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | serēnus | serēna | serēnum |
| genitive | serēnī | serēnae | serēnī |
| dative | serēnō | serēnae | serēnō |
| accusative | serēnum | serēnam | serēnum |
| ablative | serēnō | serēnā | serēnō |
| vocative | serēne | serēna | serēnum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | serēnī | serēnae | serēna |
| genitive | serēnōrum | serēnārum | serēnōrum |
| dative | serēnīs | serēnīs | serēnīs |
| accusative | serēnōs | serēnās | serēna |
| ablative | serēnīs | serēnīs | serēnīs |
| vocative | serēnī | serēnae | serēna |
sĕrēnus, a, um, adj. Sanscr. svar, sky; Gr. Σείριος; cf. σέλας; Lat. sol,
I. clear, fair, bright, serene (class.; esp. freq. in the poets; cf. sudus).
I. Lit.: cum tonuit laevum bene tempestate serenā, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 2, 39, 82 (Ann. v. 517 Vahl.):
caelo sereno, Lucr. 6, 247; Cic. Fam. 16, 9, 2; Verg. G. 1, 260; 1, 487; id. A. 3, 518; Hor. Epod. 15, 1; id. S. 2, 4, 51; Ov. M. 1, 168; 2, 321 et saep.; cf.: de parte caeli, Lucr. 6, 99: in regione caeli, Verg. A. 8, 528.—Comp.: caelo perfruitur sereniore, Mart. 4, 64, 6; cf. also: o nimium caelo et pelago confise sereno, Verg. A. 5, 870: postquam ex tam turbido die serena et tranquilla lux rediit, Liv. 1, 16, 2: luce, Verg. A. 5, 104: lumen (solis), Lucr. 2, 150: nox, id. 1, 142; Cic. Rep. 1, 15, 23; Verg. G. 1, 426: sidera, Lucr. 4, 212: facies diei, Phaedr. 4, 16, 5: species mundi, Lucr. 4, 134: aër, Plin. 17, 24, 37, § 222: ver, Verg. G. 1, 340: aestas, id. A. 6, 707: stella, Ov. F. 6, 718 et saep.: color (opp. nubilus), bright, clear, Plin. 9, 35, 54, § 107: aqua (with candida), Mart. 6, 42, 19: vox, Pers. 1, 19.—Transf., of a wind that clears the sky, that brings fair weather: hic Favonius serenu'st, istic Auster imbricus, * Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 35; hence, also, poet.: unde serenas Ventus agat nubes, Verg. G. 1, 461.— 2. As subst.: sĕrēnum, i, n., a clear, bright, or serene sky, fair weather (not in Cic.):
ponito pocillum in sereno noctu, during a fine night, Cato, R. R. 156, 3; more freq. simply sereno: Priverni sereno per diem totum rubrum solem fuisse, Liv. 31, 12, 5; 37, 3, 2: quare et sereno tonat, Sen. Q. N. 2, 18; Plin. 11, 24, 28, § 84 (opp. nubilo), Pall. 1, 30, 3; Luc. 1, 530: liquido ac puro sereno, Suet. Aug. 95: nitido sereno, Sil. 5, 58: cottidie serenum cum est, Varr. R. R. 3, 10, 4: laesique fides reditura sereni, Stat. S. 3, 1, 81: serenum nitidum micat, Mart. 6, 42, 8.—Plur.: caeli serena Concutiat sonitu, Lucr. 2, 1100: soles et aperta serena, Verg. G. 1, 393: nostra, Val. Fl. 1, 332.—II. Trop.
1. Cheerful, glad, joyous, tranquil, serene (syn.:
laetus, tranquillus, secundus): vita, Lucr. 2, 1094 Lachm.: horae (with albus dies), Sil. 15, 53: rebus serenis servare modum, in propitious or favorable circumstances, in good fortune, id. 8, 546: vultus, Lucr. 3, 293; Cat. 55, 8; Hor. C. 1, 37, 26; Ov. Tr. 1, 5, 27: frons tranquilla et serena, Cic. Tusc. 3, 15, 31: pectora processu facta serena tuo, Ov. Tr. 1, 9, 40: animus, id. ib. 1, 1, 39: oculi, Sil. 7, 461: Augustus, Ov. P. 2, 2, 65: laetitia, Just. 44, 2, 4: imperium, Sil. 14, 80: res, id. 8, 546: sereno vitae tempore, Auct. Her. 4, 48, 61: vita, Lucr. 2, 1094: temperatus (sanguis) medium quoddam serenum efficit, Quint. 11, 3, 78; cf.: tandem aliquid, pulsā curarum nube serenum Vidi, Ov. P. 2, 1, 5.—2. SERENVS, an epithet of Jupiter (whose brow was always serene), Inscr. Murat. 1978, 5; cf. Serenator;
hence, Martial calls Domitian: Jovem serenum, Mart. 5, 6, 9; 9, 25, 3.—3. Serenissimus, a title of the Roman emperors, Cod. Just. 5, 4, 23.
Sĕrēnus, i, m.; Sĕrēna, ae, f. 1. serenus,
I. a proper name.
I. Q. Serenus Sammonicus, a physician under Septimius Severus, Spart. Get. 5, 5; Macr. 3, 16, 6.—
II. Q. Serenus Sammonicus, son of the preceding, author of a poem, De Medicina, still extant, Lampr. Alex. 30, 2; cf. Teuffel's Roem. Lit. 379, 4.—
III. Serena, the wife of Stilicho, and mother-in-law of the emperor Honorius, celebrated by Claudian in a special poem (Laus Serenae Reginae).
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
serēnus adj.
2 SER-, clear, fair, bright, serene : tempestate serenā, Enn. ap. C.: caelo sereno, V., H., O.: lux, L.: Faciem ad serenam mutatur dies, Ph.: ver, V.: stella, O.: unde serenas Ventus agat nubīs, V.—As subst n., a clear sky, fair weather : sereno, in a cloudless sky , L.: soles et aperta serena, V.—Fig., cheerful, glad, joyous, tranquil, bright, serene : Voltus, H.: frons: animus, O.: aliquid serenum videre, O.
Origins
Uncertain, but perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *kseresnos, related to *kseros (“dry”), whence perhaps also serēscō (“to become dry”). See also Ancient Greek ξηρός (xērós), Sanskrit क्षार (kṣārá).
Descendants
- Catalanserè
- Englishserene
- Italiansereno
- Occitanseren
- Frenchsereinfrom Old French serein
- Portuguesesereno
- Romaniansenin
- Sardinianassulenu
- Sardinianselenu
- Spanishsereno