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epulum

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Latin

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Etymology

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Possibly contracted from *edipulum, from edō.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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epulum n (genitive epulī); second declension

  1. feast, banquet, festive entertainment
    Synonyms: epulae, convīvium, dominium, cōmissātiō, fēsta, daps, alogia
    • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.78–80:
      “Tū mihi quodcumque hoc rēgnī, tū scēptra Iovemque
      conciliās, tū dās epulīs accumbere dīvum,
      nimbōrumque facīs tempestātumque potentem.”
      “You [win] for me whatsoever sort of kingdom this [is], you secure [for me] a scepter and [favor from] Jupiter, you grant [to me the privilege] to recline at the feasts of the gods, and you confer [on me the] power of clouds and of storms.”
      (King Aeolus speaks with humble respect to Queen Juno; note the word repetition or anaphora: “You…, you…, you…, you….”)
  2. (in the plural) dishes, meats.
  3. (in the plural, figuratively) food.

Usage notes

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The plural form epulae may be used separately as a plurale tantum.

Declension

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This noun is heterogeneous, having neuter second declension in the singular and feminine first declension in the plural.

Second-declension noun (neuter) or first-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative epulum epulae
genitive epulī epulārum
dative epulō epulīs
accusative epulum epulās
ablative epulō epulīs
vocative epulum epulae

It, however, may later be found in the standard

Second-declension noun (neuter).

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References

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  • epulum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • epulum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • epulum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • epulum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) to load the tables with the most exquisite viands: mensas exquisitissimis epulis instruere (Tusc. 5. 21. 62)
    • (ambiguous) during dinner; at table: inter cenam, inter epulas
    • (ambiguous) to entertain, regale a person: accipere aliquem (bene, copiose, laute, eleganter, regio apparatu, apparatis epulis)
  • epulum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers