proper noun · femininefirst declension
Vesta
Vesta f (genitive Vestae)
Classical[ˈwɛs.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈvɛs.ta]
Meaning
- RomanfeminineVesta, goddess of the hearth and the household, equivalent to Greek Hestia.
cur sit virginibus, quæris, dea culta ministris? / inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas. / ex Ope Iunonem memorant Cereremque creatas / semine Saturni; tertia Vesta fuit. / utraque nupserunt, ambæ peperisse feruntur; / de tribus impatiens restitit una viri.
Why, you ask, is the goddess tended by virgin ministers? I’ll discover the true causes for this as well. They say that Juno and Ceres were born of Ops by Saturn’s seed; Vesta was the third daughter. The other two married, both reported to have borne children; of the three, one remained who could not bear a husband.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti VI.283–288
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | Vesta | Vestae |
| genitive | Vestae | Vestārum |
| dative | Vestae | Vestīs |
| accusative | Vestam | Vestās |
| ablative | Vestā | Vestīs |
| vocative | Vesta | Vestae |
Vesta, ae, f. Sanscr. root vas, to burn; vasaras, day; whence also Gr. Εστία.
I. Another name for Ops, Cybele, Terra, the wife of Cœlus and mother of Saturn, Cic. N. D. 2, 27, 67; Ov. F. 6, 267.—
II. Her granddaughter, daughter of Saturn, the goddess of flocks and herds, and of the household in general, Cic. N. D. 2, 27, 67; id. Leg. 2, 12, 29; id. Div. 1, 45, 101; id. Fam. 14, 2, 2; id. de Or. 3, 3, 10;
in her temple the holy fire burned perpetually, attended by the Vestal virgins, id. Leg. 2, 8, 20; id. Cat. 4, 9, 18; Liv. 28, 11; 4, 52: Vestae sacerdos, i. e. the Pontifex maximus, of Cœsar, Ov. F. 5, 573; id. M. 15, 778.—B. Poet., transf.
1. The temple of Vesta: quo tempore Vesta Arsit Ov. F. 6, 437; cf. id. ib. 6, 234; 6, 713.—
2. Fire:
ter liquido ardentem perfudit nectare Vestam, Verg. G. 4, 384; Sil. 6, 76.— Hence, Vestālis, e, adj., of or belonging to Vesta, Vestal: festi, Ov. F. 6, 395: ara, Luc. 1, 549: foci, id. 1, 199: virgines, priestesses of Vesta, Vestal virgins, Vestals, Cic. Leg. 2, 8, 20; id. Rep. 2, 14, 26; 3, 10, 17; Liv. 4, 44 fin.—Sing., Gell. 1, 12, 9: sacerdos, id. 1, 12, 14 al.—B. Substt.
1. Ve-stālis, is, f. (virgo), a priestess of Vesta, a Vestal, Liv. 1, 3 sq.; Plin. 28, 4, 7, § 39; Ov. F. 2, 383 al.—Hence, as adj.:
Vestales oculi, of the Vestals, Ov. Tr. 2, 311.—2. Ve-stālĭa, ĭum, n., the festival of Vesta, Varr. L. L. 6, 3, 17.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Vesta ae, f
1 VAS-, daughter of Saturn and Ops, goddess of flocks and herds, and of the household; in her temple the Vestal virgins maintained a perpetual fire, C., L., V., H., O.: quo tempore Vesta Arsit, i. e. the temple of Vesta, O.: perfudit nectare Vestam, i. e. the fire, V.
Origins
Uncertain. De Vaan relates the term with Ancient Greek Ἑστία (Hestía), in which case a connection with *h₂wes- (“to dwell”) cannot be maintained. Ultimately, De Vaan suggests that it is perhaps a loanword. Alternatively, the EIEC tentatively suggests that both the Latin and Greek word may derive from Proto-Indo-European *h₁w-es-, a by-form of *h₁ews- (“to burn”). Beekes, however, rejects the etymological connection between the Latin and Greek terms. More at Vesta.