flamen

[fley-muh n, -men]

noun, plural fla·mens, fla·mi·nes [flam-uh-neez] /ˈflæm əˌniz/.

(in ancient Rome) a priest.

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. 2019

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.
The Religious Experience of the Roman People
W. Warde Fowler
Quintus Claudius, the son of the Flamen, has insulted me mortally.
Quintus Claudius, Volume 1 of 2
Ernst Eckstein
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)

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

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

"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.