numen
Americannoun
noun
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(esp in ancient Roman religion) a deity or spirit presiding over a thing or place
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a guiding principle, force, or spirit
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of numen
1620–30; < Latin nūmen a nod, command, divine will or power, divinity; akin to nūtāre to nod the head in commanding or assent
Vocabulary lists containing numen
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.
See Examples For:
He looked at her, inquiring of her whole person what numen abode in the fane.
From Robert Falconer by MacDonald, George
For the idea of a numen supremum did not exclude belief in the existence and manifestation of subordinate deities.
From History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7) by Buchanan, Neil
Dieu est le superlatif, dont le positif est lhomme, says Carl Vogt; meaning, that the popular idea of a numen is that of a magnified and non-natural man.
From The Kasidah of Haji Abdu El-Yezdi by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir
There is the famous Nullum numen habes si sit prudentia: nos te, Nos facimus, Fortuna, deam, taken by Juvenal from the Greek.
From Five Stages of Greek Religion by Murray, Gilbert
Nuere should therefore express a simple exercise of will-power, and numen is the being119 exercising it.
From The Religious Experience of the Roman People From the Earliest Times to the Age of Augustus by Fowler, W. Warde
The earliest Romans worshiped powerful spirits or divine forces, called numina, that they thought resided in everything around them.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2012
The numina montanum were sons of Gaea, Hazel’s least favorite goddess.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Leo muttered some unflattering comments about numina, but he turned the wheel.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
The scene disappeared in the fog, but when the mountain god bellowed again, other numina answered in the distance, their voices echoing through the valleys.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Unfortunately, Hazel guessed, judging from their last two encounters, Leo’s newest weapon had only annoyed the numina.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
