Penates

or pe·na·tes

[ puh-ney-teez, -nah- ]

/ pəˈneɪ tiz, -ˈnɑ- /

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plural noun Roman Religion.

gods who watched over the home or community to which they belonged: originally, two deities of the storeroom.

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Compare Lares.

Origin of Penates

1505–15; <Latin Penātēs, akin to penus stock of provisions

Words nearby Penates

penalty shot, penalty stroke, penance, Penang, penannular, Penates, pen-based, pence, pencel, penchant, penché

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Penates in a sentence

Thank the Lares and Penates that Howard Fast wrote Spartacus for similar reasons.
Erica Jong Defends Feminist Revolution|Erica Jong|March 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
No other deities are described in detail by Prescott, but he says that every household had its "penates," or household gods.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
The third was much the same as the more modern Lares and Penates, and superintended dwelling-houses and families.
Ancient Faiths And Modern|Thomas Inman
When the child was five days old, it was carried about the hearth to introduce it to the Penates.
The Mysteries of All Nations|James Grant

Matt represented to Rupert the Lares and Penates his emotional nature required and had been denied.
In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim|Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Lares and Penates themselves were very small objects to look at, whatever may have been the thoughts they suggested.
Needlework As Art|Marian Alford

British Dictionary definitions for Penates

penates

/ (pəˈnɑːtiːz) /

pl n

See lares and penates

Word Origin for penates

Latin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012