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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of lares and penates

1765–75; < Latin Larēs ( et ) Penātēs

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lares and penates

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

From Time Magazine Archive

Thereupon the inner habitants of the deserted equipages emerged from amid their lares and penates, and met face to face.

From From a Bench in Our Square by Adams, Samuel Hopkins

The cattle and goats were driven over, and the mats, calabashes, and other lares and penates, with the assegais and clubs of Sobèdè, were taken to Manciya’s kraal.

From The White Hecatomb And other Stories by Scully, W. C. (William Charles)

We are to swear by our own lares and penates, and stand up for the American eagle, right or wrong.

From Confessions and Criticisms by Hawthorne, Julian

They erected their altars on the hills; they had their lares and penates to watch over their hearth-stones, and their vestal virgins kept everlasting vigil near the never-dying fires in the temples.

From Stories of the Olden Time (Historical Series—Book IV Part I) by Various