Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A priest, especially of an ancient Roman deity.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In Roman antiquity, a priest devoted to the service of one particular deity. Originally there were three priests so called: the flamen Dialis, consecrated to Jupiter; the flamen Martialis, sacred to Mars; and the flamen Quirinalis, who super-intended the rites of Quirinus or Romulus. The number was gradually increased to fifteen, but the original three retained priority in point of rank, being styled majores, and elected from among the patricians, while the other twelve, called
minores , were elected from the plebeians. Their characteristic dress included the cap called the apex, the robe called the læna, and a wreath of laurel.
Wiktionary
- n. A priest devoted to the service of a particular god, from whom he received a distinguishing epithet. The most honored were those of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, called respectively Flamen Dialis, Flamen Martialis, and Flamen Quirinalis.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Rom. Antiq.) A priest devoted to the service of a particular god, from whom he received a distinguishing epithet. The most honored were those of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, called respectively Flamen Dialis, Flamen Martialis, and Flamen Quirinalis.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a priest who served a particular deity in ancient Rome
Etymologies
- Middle English flamin, from Latin flāmen. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“So deh ballrogg iz gonna takem down wit him. he lashez hiz flamen whip round gandalfcatz anklez 2 drag him down to see basement catz hous. gandalfcatz last words afor fallen down da big hole iz fly you foolz! and the hobbitzez all cry.”
Fly u foolz!! - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger?
“He and his wife were shackled with taboos, particularly the flamen and flaminica Dialis; he was forbidden to see death, touch iron, have knots or buckles on his person, and much more.”
“The flamen wore a circular, poncholike cape, the laena, and the apex, a close-fitting ivory helmet surmounted by a spike on which was impaled a disc of wool.”
“But be the alleance of iern on his flamen vestacoat, the fibule of brooch-bronze to his wintermantle of pointefox.”
“In India, this duality is in the roles of the rajan and brahman; in Rome, of rex and flamen.”
“And therefore the archflamen or the flamen, as our archbishop or bishop, when he receiveth them saith thus: LA ELLEC”
“Another reason for my disquiet concerns my own ancestors, for the first Cornelius to be cognominated Sulla was flamen Dialis.”
“Of priests, Gaius Aurelius Cotta had been in the college the longest; Metellus Pius was not far behind, nor Flaccus the Master of the Horse and Princeps Senatus, who was also the flamen Martialis.”
“Scuffling a little, Sulla got out of his chair and walked across to the couch where the garb of the flamen Dialis lay.”
“On that exact same day of the year, the flamen Dialis was born.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘flamen’.
-
phrontistery - f
from phrontistery.info
fustilarian, fusillation, fustian, futurology, fusiform, futurition, fusee, fuscous, fusain, furunculoid, futtock, furibund and 418 more...
-
Russian Doll Words
A Russian Doll word is a word that, when you remove the first and last letters, is either the empty string, or a Russian Doll word. These are all of the 6 or more letter Russian Doll words found in...
waspiness, upraisers, strainers, sporangia, raspiness, prelatess, methanals, gaspiness, washings, uprisers, upraises, upraiser and 2373 more...
-
Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
-
O So Zhinsky!
zarf, liripipe, theandric, tazza, bobeche, autotelic, gonfalon, refulgent, crepuscular, caduceus, knop, labarum and 46 more...
-
Words that make you go hmmmm...
Interesting words you probably won't hear in your day-to-day.
maxwell, mooncalf, quagga, glaikit, musquash, lingam, haruspex, qindarka, chthonic, ipomoea, azimuthal, valuta and 304 more...
-
rememberers
prolix, ageusia, animadversion, anodyne, antic, arabesque, beadle, brachymetropia, colophon, desquamation, diaphoresis, diegesis and 3250 more...
-
Literarie: The Tragedy of Coriolanus
A play by William Shakespeare.
sufferance, cram, garner, embracement, freelier, mammock, cambric, stitchery, cloven, murrain, manifest housekeeper, a crack'd drachma! and 88 more...
-
Honorifics
emperor, empress, king, queen, monarch, prince, princess, admiral, general, herald, warden, patriarch and 68 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for flamen.
fbharjo a priest(ly) of a different god(ly)ness!
uncertainly certain Apr 27, 2011
bilby "...stalls, bulks, windows,
Are smother'd up, leads fill'd and ridges hors'd
With variable complexions; all agreeing
In earnestness to see him: seld-shown flamens
Do press among the popular throngs, and puff
To win a vulgar station..."
- William Shakespeare, 'The Tragedy of Coriolanus'. Aug 28, 2009