Meanings
penates1
- Romanpluralplural onlyhuman sciencesThe household deities thought to watch over the houses and storerooms of ancient Rome.
lest the name thereof being discovered unto their enemies, their Penates and Patronal Gods might be called forth by charms and incantations.
1646, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, I.3 - figurativelypluralplural onlySynonym of household deities in other contexts.
...and a china shepherd and shepherdess, clothed in "a green and yellow melancholy," were the penates of the mantel-piece.
1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 101Synonyms: household deities in other contexts
Penates2
- pluralplural of Penate
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of household deities in other contexts.
Origin
- Latinpenātēs
- Englishpenates
From Latin penātēs, from penus (“inner part of house”). Displaced native Old English cōfgod.
More words from Latin
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Rhymes with penates
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Cite this entry
penates. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penates
“penates.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penates. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “penates,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penates.
Source: penates on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.