noun · femininefirst declension
tenebrae
tenebrae f pl (genitive tenebrārum)
Classical[ˈtɛ.nɛ.brae̯]Ecclesiastical[ˈtɛː.ne.bre]
№ 775 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- femininepluraldarkness, especially the darkness of night
Terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.
And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Genesis.1.2 - femininepluralpoeticshadow of death
- femininepluralprison, dungeon
- broadlyfemininepluralgloom or darkness of the mind
- Medieval Latinfemininepluralpervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness
Quamquam si illustres ævi nostri viros attigissem, non dicam te, ne tibi, quod placatus non soleo, iratus adulari videar, at certe nec patruum, nec patrem tuum silentio oppressurus fuerim. Nolui autem pro tam paucis nominibus claris, tam procul tantasque per tenebras stilum ferre: ideoque vel materiæ vel labori parcens, longe ante hoc sæculum historiæ limitem statui ac defixi.
And yet had I touched upon illustrious men of our time, I will not say that I should have introduced your name (lest in my present anger I should seem to flatter you, a thing which is not my habit even when well disposed), but most assuredly I should not have passed over in silence either your uncle or your father. I did not wish for the sake of so few famous names, however, to guide my pen so far and through such darkness. Therefore sparing myself the excess both of subject-matter and of effort, I have determined to fix a limit to my history long before this century.1359, Franciscus Petrarca, “Franciscus Petrarca Agapito de Columna S. P. D.: Ægre fert incusari se ob partas divitias amicorum oblivione captum insolescere.” (epistola VIII, pages 28–34), in Josephus Fracassettus, editor, Epistolæ de Rebus Familiaribus et Variæ, volume III, Florentia: Felix Le Monnier, published 1863, book XX, pages 30–31:
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
locus sine ūllā lūce; in tenebrīs nihil vidēmus.tenebrae -ārum f pl — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs
absentia lūcistenebrae -ārum (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 2, 4, 20, 25
cālīgō, lūcis absentiatenebrae -ārum (f) — in Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 21
nox, locus sine lūcetenebrae -ārum (f) — in Metamorphoses I, †
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Obscurum · Tenebræ · Caligo · Tenebricosus · Opacus · Umbrosus
1. Obscurum (σκοτερόν) denotes darkness as an obstruction of light, like σκότος in opp. to illustre. Auct. ad Her. iii. 19, 32. Plin. Pan. 69; whereas tenebræ (δνοφεραί) as the absence of light,) like ζόφος, κνέφας,) in opp. to lux. Cic. Ep. ad Q. Fr. i. 2; lastly, caligo (from celare) as the positive opposite to light and brightness, like ἀχλύς. Caligo denotes a greater degree of darkness than tenebræ; tenebræ than obscuritas; obscuritas than opacum and umbrosum. Cic. Acad. iv. 23, 72. Sensus quidem non obscuros facit sed tenebricosos. Plin. Ep. vii. 21. Cubicula obductis velis opaca, nec tamen obscura facio. Tac. H. ii. 32. Senatum et populum nunquam obscurari nomina, etsi aliquando obumbrentur. Hence, figuratively, obscurus denotes only an insignificant person, of whom nobody takes notice; whereas tenebricosus something positively bad, which seeks darkness that it may remain unobserved. 2. Opacus denotes shady, with reference to a pleasant and beneficial coolness, in opp. to apertus and apricus, like εὔσκιος; whereas umbrosus (umbra, ἀμαυρός,) implies a depth of shade approaching to darkness, like σκιόεις. (iii. 168.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | tenebra | tenebrae tenebellae |
| genitive | — | tenebrārum tenebellārum |
| dative | — | tenebrīs tenebellīs |
| accusative | tenebram | tenebrās tenebellās |
| ablative | tenebrā | tenebrīs tenebellīs |
| vocative | tenebra | tenebrae tenebellae |
tĕnē^brae, ārum (collat. form tĕnē^-bra, ae, Lampr. Commod. 16; App. M. 5, p. 167, 25), f. akin to Sanscr. tamisra, dark; cf. timere,
I. darkness (stronger than obscuritas, and weaker than caligo; freq. and class.).
I. Lit.
A. In gen.:
veluti pueri omnia caecis In tenebris metuant, Lucr. 2, 56: tempestas atque tenebrae Coperiunt maria ac terras, id. 6, 491: cum obscurato sole tenebrae factae essent repente, Cic. Rep. 1, 16, 25; cf.: nos tenebras cogitemus tantas, quantae, etc., id. N. D. 2, 38, 96: tetrae tenebrae et caligo, id. Agr. 2, 17, 44; v. caligo: tenebras et solitudinem nacti, id. Fin. 3, 11, 38: incultu, tenebris, odore foeda atque terribilis ejus (Tulliani) facies est, Sall. C. 55, 4: ipsis noctis tenebris, Quint. 10, 6, 1: obtentā densantur nocte tenebrae, Verg. G. 1, 248: neve velit (Sol) tenebras inducere rebus, Ov. M. 2, 395: tacitae, Sen. Med. 114. — B. In partic.
1. The darkness of night, night:
redire luce, non tenebris, Cic. Phil. 2, 30, 76: classem in statione usque ad noctem tenuit: primis tenebris movit, Liv. 31, 23, 4: somnus qui faciat breves tenebras, Mart. 10, 47, 11: tenebris, during the night, Tib. 1, 6, 59; 2, 1, 76; Ov. Am. 1, 6, 10: tenebris obortis, Nep. Eum. 9, 5: per tenebras, Luc. 2, 686: (me) videt pulsis Aurora tenebris, Ov. M. 7, 703: effulget tenebris Aurora fugatis, id. ib. 2, 144.—2. The darkness or dimness of a swoon, a swoon:
tenebrae oboriuntur, genua inedia succidunt, Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 30; Verg. A. 11, 824; Ov. M. 2, 181; 12, 136; id. Tr. 1, 3, 91; id. H. 13, 23; Luc. 3, 735; Plin. 7, 6, 5, § 41.— 3. The darkness of death, death-shades (poet. and rare):
juro, Me tibi ad extremas mansuram tenebras, Prop. 2, 20 (3, 13), 17; cf.: (urbes) ad Erebi profundos hiatus abactae, aeternis tenebris occultantur, Amm. 17, 7, 13; cf. also in a play upon this signif. and that of B. 1.: certum'st mihi ante tenebras (i. e. noctem) tenebras (i. e. mortem) persequi, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 88.—4. Blindness (poet. and very rare):
occidit extemplo lumen tenebraeque sequuntur, Lucr. 3, 415: tenebras et cladem lucis ademptae Obicit, Ov. M. 3, 515; 3, 525; Stat. Th. 4, 407. — C. Transf., concr., a dark, gloomy place.
2. A prison, dungeon:
clausi in tenebris, cum maerore et luctu morte graviorem vitam exigunt, Sall. J. 14, 15: in atras et profundas tenebras eum claudebant, Tubero ap. Gell. 6, 4, 3. — 3. Lurking-places, haunts:
emersus ex diuturnis tenebris lustrorum ac stuprorum, Cic. Sest. 9, 20: demonstres, ubi sint tuae tenebrae, Cat. 55, 2.—4. Dark or poor lodgings:
quanti nunc tenebras unum conducis in annum, Juv. 3, 225. — 5. The infernal regions:
tenebrae malae Orci, Cat. 3, 13: infernae, Verg. A. 7, 325; Hor. C. 4, 7, 25: Stygiae, Verg. G. 3, 551: quid Styga, quid tenebras timetis? Ov. M. 15, 154.—II. Trop., darkness, gloom, obscurity of the mind, of fame, of fortune, fate, etc. (class.):
isti tantis offusis tenebris ne scintillam quidem ullam nobis ad dispiciendum reliquerunt, Cic. Ac. 2, 19, 61: obducere tenebras rebus clarissimis, id. ib. 2, 6, 16; cf.: omnibus fulgore quodam suae claritatis tenebras obduxit, Quint. 10, 1, 72: quas tu mihi tenebras cudis? what darkness are you raising about me? i. e. what trick are you playing me? Plaut. Ep. 3, 4, 40: tenebras dispulit calumniae, Phaedr. 3, 10, 42: quae jacerent omnia in tenebris, nisi litterarum lumen accederet, obscurity, concealment, Cic. Arch. 6, 14: vestram familiam abjectam et obscuram e tenebris in lucem evocavit, id. Deiot. 11, 30; cf.: o tenebrae, o lutum, o sordes (Piso)! obscurity, i. e. low birth, baseness, id. Pis. 26, 62; id. Att. 7, 11, 1: vitae, gloomy fate or fortunes, Lucr. 2, 15: qui tibi aestus, qui error, qui tenebrae erunt, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 14, 45: in illis rei publicae tenebris caecisque nubibus et procellis, id. Dom. 10, 24: ex superioris anni caligine et tenebris lucem in re publicā dispicere, id. Red. in Sen. 3, 5: si quid tenebrarum offudit exilium, id. Tusc. 3, 34, 82: tamquam si offusa rei publicae sempiterna nox esset, ita ruebant in tenebris omniaque miscebant, id. Rosc. Am. 32, 91.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tenebrae ārum, f
darkness, gloom: obscurato sole tenebrae factae: tenebras et solitudinem nacti: tenebris, odore foeda facies, S.: neve velit (Sol) tenebras inducere rebus, O.: tenebris nigrescunt omnia, V.: tenebras et cladem lucis ademptae Obicit, i. e. blindness, O.—The darkness of night, night: redire luce, non tenebris: primis tenebris movit, L.: tenebris, during the night, O.: tenebris obortis, N.—A gloomy place, prison, dungeon, lurking-place: clausi in tenebris, S.: postremo tenebrae, vincla.—Lurking-places, haunts: emersus ex diuturnis tenebris lustrorum: Quanti nunc tenebras unum conducis in annum, i. e. a dark lodging, Iu.—The shades, infernal regions: Infernae, V.: quid tenebras timetis? O.—Fig., darkness, gloom, obscurity: clarissimis rebus tenebras obducere: tenebras dispulit calumniae, Ph.: quaeso, quid hoc est? mihi enim tenebrae sunt: rei p.: si quid tenebrarum offudit exsilium.
Origins
With regressive dissimilation (*m-b > n-b) from *temabrāi, nominalized feminine plural from Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-, from *témHos. Related to temere.
Borrowings
- Catalantenebres
- Frenchténèbres
- Romaniantenebrăfrom French ténèbres
- Englishtenebrism
- Idotenebro
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesetrevasfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tẽevras
- Spanishtinieblas
- Galiciantebrasfrom Old Galician-Portuguese tẽevras
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italiantenebre
- Istriottienabre