lares and penates

American  

plural noun

1. Roman Religion. Lares and Penates, the benevolent spirits and gods of the household.

2. the cherished possessions of a family or household.

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lares and penates British  

/ ˈlɑː-, ˈlɛəriːz /

plural noun

1. Roman myth

   1. household gods

   2. statues of these gods kept in the home

2. the valued possessions of a household

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Etymology

Origin of lares and penates

1765–75; < Latin Larēs ( et ) Penātēs

Example Sentences

Her lares and penates range from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee.

From Time Magazine Archive

A quinzied mother-in-law had knocked his lares and penates sky-high.

From The Trimmed Lamp, and other Stories of the Four Million by Henry, O.

You will always see in every cubicle, above every bed in a long hut, the girl's own private gallery, the lares and penates which make of her, in her bed at least, an individual.

From The Sword of Deborah First-hand impressions of the British Women's Army in France by Jesse, F. Tennyson (Fryniwyd Tennyson)

But his father had thoughtfully taken an armful of lares and penates; and the accommodating nature of his son was, therefore, more conspicuous.

From Cobwebs from an Empty Skull by Bierce, Ambrose

I decided to go and protect my lares and penates, trivial though they might be.

From Kitty's Conquest by King, Charles