flamen

[fley-muhn, -men]

noun

plural

flamens, flamines 

1. (in ancient Rome) a priest.

flamen

/ ˈfleɪmɛn /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) any of 15 priests who each served a particular deity

Word History and Origins

Origin of flamen¹

1300–50; < Latin flamen (perhaps earlier *flādmen; akin to Old English blōtan to sacrifice); replacing Middle English flamin < Latin flāmin- (stem of flāmen )

Word History and Origins

Origin of flamen¹

C14: from Latin; probably related to Old English blōtan to sacrifice, Gothic blotan to worship

Example Sentences

A drear and dying sound Affrights the flamens at their service quaint.

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Ye venerable sages, and holy flamens, is there probability in your conjectures, truth in your stories, of another world beyond death; or are they all alike baseless visions and fabricated fables?

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The religious affairs of each were conducted by a priest called curio assisted by a flamen curialis.

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Except for the bounding mimes about them the flamens kept the front of the horde, following with downcast eyes the trail of yellow roses which, Marsyas now knew, led the procession.

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There were then in Britain eight and twenty flamens, as also three archflamens, to whose jurisdiction the other judges and enthusiasts were subject.

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