proper noun
Vertumnus
Meaning
- the god of the changing year
Vertumnus (Vort-), i, m. qs. vertomenos, as a part. pass., from verto, that turns or changes himself, orig. an Etruscan deity,
I. the god of the changing year, i. e. of the seasons and their productions, also of exchange and of trade, Varr. L. L. 5, § 46 Müll.; Prop. 4 (5), 2, 10; Ov. F. 6, 410; id. M. 14, 642 sq.; Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 59, § 154 Ascon. Near his statue in the forum at Rome were the booksellers' shops, Hor. Ep. 1, 20, 1;
also the market-gardeners, Col. poët. 10, 308.—As a symbol of mutability: Vertumnis natus iniquis, said of an unstable man, Hor. S. 2, 7, 14.—Hence, Vertum-nālĭa, ĭum, n., the festival of Vertumnus, Varr. L. L. 6, § 21 Müll.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Vertumnus (Vort-) ī, m
for * vertomenos, P. pass. of verto, the god of change, of the seasons, of exchange and trade, C., H., O.—Poet.: Vertumnis natus iniquis, i. e. of a fickle character, H.