noun · femininefirst declension
verbēna
verbēna f (genitive verbēnae)
Classical[wɛrˈbeː.na]Ecclesiastical[verˈbɛː.na]
Meaning
- foliage, especially that of olive, myrtle etc having religious and medicinal uses
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | verbēna | verbēnae |
| genitive | verbēnae | verbēnārum |
| dative | verbēnae | verbēnīs |
| accusative | verbēnam | verbēnās |
| ablative | verbēnā | verbēnīs |
| vocative | verbēna | verbēnae |
verbēna, ae, f. (v. Don. ad Ter. And. 4, 3, 11); usually in plur.: verbēnae, ārum, f.,
I. foliage, herbage, the leaves, twigs, and branches of laurel, olive, or myrtle, cypress, tamarisk, sacred boughs, etc.:
verbenas vocamus omnes frondes sacratas, ut est laurus, oliva vel myrtus, Serv. ad Verg. A. 12, 120; cf. id. ad Verg. E. 8, 65, where is given the derivation, a viriditate; such boughs were borne by the fetiales, Liv. 1, 24, 6; 30, 43, 3; Plin. 22, 2, 3, § 5: verbenā tempora vincti, Serv. ad Verg. A. 12, 120; by priests suing for protection, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 110; and were used in sacrifices and other religious acts, Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 33; Ter. And. 4, 3, 11; Hor. C. 1, 19, 14; 4, 11, 7; Ov. M. 7, 242; Verg. E. 8, 65; Plin. 15, 29, 36, § 119; Suet. Vesp. 7.—II. A class of plants used in medicine as cooling remedies, including the olive, myrtle, ivy, etc., Cels. 2, 22 fin.; 8, 10, 7.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
verbēna ae, f
a leafy twig, olive-branch, sacred bough (of laurel, olive, myrtle, or cypress, borne by the fetiales): fetialis patrem patratum Fusium fecit verbenā caput tangens, L.: sacerdotes Cereris cum infulis et verbenis (as suppliants): ex arā hinc sume verbenas tibi, T.: Verbenas adole pinguīs, V., H., O.
Origins
By surface analysis, verber + -na. From earlier *werbez-na-, itself formed from the addition of -nus to the s-stem *wer(β/b)-os ~ *wer(β/b)-es- (whence also verber). It is perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *werb⁽ʰ⁾-, whence also perhaps Lithuanian virbas (“twig, branch, scion, rod”).
Borrowings
- Catalanberbena
- Englishverbena
- Italianverbena
- Occitanverbena
- Portugueseverbena
- Spanishverbena
- Asturianverbena
Gallo-Romance
- Frenchverveinefrom Old French vervainne
- Romanianvervenăfrom Old French vervainne
- Englishvervainfrom Old French vervainne
Balkano-Romance
- Romanianverbină
- Aromanianyirghinã
Italo-Romance
- Italianvermena
- Sicilianvirvina
- Sicilianberbina
Rhaeto-Romance
- Friulianvermene