Averno

American  

[uh-vur-noh, ah-ver-naw] / əˈvɜr noʊ, ɑˈvɛr nɔ /

noun

1. a crater lake in S Italy, near Naples and the Tyrrhenian Sea, thought by ancients to be the entrance to the underworld.

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Averno British  

/ aˈvɛrno /

noun

1. Latin name: Avernus.  a crater lake in Italy, near Naples: in ancient times regarded as an entrance to hell

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Etymology

Origin of Averno

from Latin, from Greek aornos without birds, from _a- ¹ + ornis bird; referring to the legend that the lake's sulphurous exhalations killed birds

Example Sentences

Paul Daniel conducts the initial performances, with Barbara Hannigan and Kerstin Averno sharing the title role.

From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2012

These words undoubtedly indicate the accomplishment of the "facilis descensus Averno" by the native deities.

From Elizabethan Demonology by Spalding, Thomas Alfred

The motto, "Facilis descensus Averno," etc, epitomises the whole story.

From Edwy the Fair or the First Chronicle of Aescendune by Crake, A. D. (Augustine David)

Do you intend to restrict the family to the back stairs, which by your showing are, like the famous descensus Averno, wonderfully easy to go down, but mighty hard to get up again?

From Homes and How to Make Them by Gardner, E. C. (Eugene Clarence)

"Facilis descensus Averno" is the motto over its downward path.

From Exempting the Churches An Argument for the Abolition of This Unjust and Unconstitutional Practice by James F. Morton. Jr.