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  • Penates
    Penates
    plural noun
    gods who watched over the home or community to which they belonged: originally, two deities of the storeroom.
  • penates
    penates
    plural noun

Penates

American  
[puh-ney-teez, -nah-] / pəˈneɪ tiz, -ˈnɑ- /
Or penates

plural noun

Roman Religion.
  1. gods who watched over the home or community to which they belonged: originally, two deities of the storeroom.


penates British  
/ pəˈnɑːtiːz /

plural noun

  1. See lares and penates

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Penates

1505–15; < Latin Penātēs, akin to penus stock of provisions

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The most prominent and revered of them all were the Lares and Penates.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

There were also public Lares and Penates, who did for the city what the others did for the family.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Every Roman family had a Lar, who was the spirit of an ancestor, and several Penates, gods of the hearth and guardians of the storehouse.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Among the Romans, Vesta was not the only goddess invoked on the family hearth, for she shared that place of honor with the Lares, Manes, and Penates, who all enjoyed special veneration and sacrifices.

From Myths of Greece and Rome Narrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art by Guerber, H. A. (H?l?ne Adeline)

The rabbits in all French country families are a sort of Lares and Penates.

From Average Americans by Roosevelt, Theodore