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

Bear it reverently to your home, hang it among your lares and penates, cherish it, and dying, mention it within your will, bequeathing it as a rich legacy unto your issue!

From Lone Star Planet by Piper, H. Beam

We had been quartered in this border town for more than a year, and the senior officers’ lady-wives had brought their lares and penates in three bullock-carts a-piece.

From Tomaso's Fortune and Other Stories by Merriman, Henry Seton

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)

All the inhabitants have fled, leaving their lares and penates just as the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum sought to flee when the lava came down on them.

From A Woman's Experience in the Great War by Mack, Louise