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flamen

[fley-muh n, -men]
noun, plural fla·mens, fla·mi·nes [flam-uh-neez] /ˈflæm əˌniz/.
  1. (in ancient Rome) a priest.
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Origin of flamen

1300–50; < Latin flamen (perhaps earlier *flādmen; akin to Old English blōtan to sacrifice); replacing Middle English flamin < Latin flāmin- (stem of flāmen)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for flamen

Historical Examples of flamen

  • Livia, priestess of the deified Augustus; Germanicus was his flamen.

    The Last Poems of Ovid

    Ovid

  • In any case the Flamen was not in any special sense priest of Iup.

  • Quintus Claudius, the son of the Flamen, has insulted me mortally.

  • Suetonius (Csar, 1) says that Csar was designated (destinatus) flamen.

    History of Julius Caesar Vol. 1 of 2

    Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, 1808-1873.

  • The Flamen Dialis, or priest of Jupiter, had a life burdened with etiquette.

    Ten Great Religions

    James Freeman Clarke

British Dictionary definitions for flamen

flamen

noun plural flamens or flamines (ˈflæmɪˌniːz)
  1. (in ancient Rome) any of 15 priests who each served a particular deity
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Word Origin for flamen

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

Word Origin and History for flamen

n.

"ancient Roman priest," 1530s, from Latin flamen, of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE root *bhlad- "to worship" (cf. Gothic blotan, Old English blotan "to sacrifice"). Also used from early 14c. in reference to the ancient pre-Christian British priests, in imitation of Geoffrey of Monmouth.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper