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  

/ ˈlɛəriːz, ˈlɑː- /

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

See Examples For:

lares and penates

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

From Time Magazine Archive

There, for reasons understood then only by himself, had Sir Adrian elected, about the "year seven" of this century and in the prime of his age, to transplant his lares and penates.

From The Light of Scarthey by Egerton Castle

Evesham had given up his large, sunny room to Dorothy's mother, but he had not removed all his lares and penates.

From In Exile and Other Stories by Mary Hallock Foote

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 Henry Seton Merriman

When morning came Barnickel and Katty were boxing up the lares and penates, and toward nightfall Mira herself was meekly, though not resignedly, bearing a hand.

From Under Fire by C. B. Cox