lares and penates
Americanplural noun
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Roman Religion. Lares and Penates, the benevolent spirits and gods of the household.
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the cherished possessions of a family or household.
plural noun
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Roman myth
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household gods
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statues of these gods kept in the home
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the valued possessions of a household
Etymology
Origin of lares and penates
1765–75; < Latin Larēs ( et ) Penātēs
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her lares and penates range from Ella Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee.
From Time Magazine Archive
But if you and Miss Lovell would come over one day soon and help me to decide about the disposition of my lares and penates, it would be the greatest help.
From The Vision of Desire by Pedler, Margaret
Her lares and penates were being attacked, and she had come from the heart of her solitude to defend them.
From Lost Man's Lane A Second Episode in the Life of Amelia Butterworth by Green, Anna Katharine
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
I therefore resolved to take my lares and penates to France, where, at the moment, the pulse of the world was throbbing most strongly.
From An Autobiography by Stravinsky, Igor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
