venus

See also: Venus, Venüs, Vénus, and Vênus

English

Etymology

From translingual Venus (“a genus of clams”), from Latin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈviːnəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːnəs
• Homophones: Venus, venous

Noun

venus (plural venuses)

1. Any of the bivalve molluscs in the genus Venus or family Veneridae.

Derived terms

• sunray venus (Macrocallista nimbosa)
• cross-barred venus (Chione cancellata)
• lady-in-waiting venus (Chione intapurpurea)
• imperial venus (Lirophora latilirata)
• grey pygmy venus (Chione grus)
• striped venus clam (Chamelea gallina)
• elegant venus clam (Pitar dione)
• warty venus (Venus verrucosa)

Anagrams

• nevus

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

venus

1. conditional of veni

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Participle

venus m pl

1. masculine plural of venu

Ido

Verb

venus

1. conditional of venar

Latin

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *wénh₁-os ~ *wénh₁-es-os n (“loveliness”), from the root *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”). Cognate with Sanskrit वनस् n (vánas, “loveliness, desire”) and possibly also cognate with Old Norse vanir. Although comparative evidence suggests that the name of the goddess Venus originated as a personification of the noun 'loveliness'; this Latin noun can be interpreted in the historical period as a figurative or transferred use of the goddess's name (note its feminine gender, as opposed to the neuter gender that is reconstructed for the original noun). Accordingly, many edited works capitalize the term.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯e.nus/, [ˈu̯ɛnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈve.nus/, [ˈvɛːnus]

Noun

venus f (genitive veneris); third declension

1. (uncountable) loveliness, attractiveness, beauty, grace, elegance, charm
2. (countable) love, beloved (person or object)
3. See Venus.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	venus	venerēs
genitive	veneris	venerum
dative	venerī	veneribus
accusative	venerem	venerēs
ablative	venere	veneribus
vocative	venus	venerēs

Derived terms

• Venus
• venustās
• venustus

 

Related terms

• veneror
• venia
• vēnor

 

Descendants

• → Oscan: ϝενζηι (venzēi, dat.sg.)

• see: Venus

Further reading

• “venus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

vēnus m

1. Theoretical form of vēnum used as lemma by some dictionaries.

Declension

Fourth/second-declension noun (defective), singular only.

	singular
nominative	—
genitive	—
dative	vēnuī vēnō
accusative	vēnum
ablative	—
vocative	—

Further reading

• “venus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• venus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• venus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Etymology

From Venus, borrowed from Latin Venus. So named because of its astrological association with the planet.

Noun

venus (uncountable)

1. (rare) The reddish-brown metal; copper.
   • 1475, The Book of Quintessence:

     This water forsoþe is so strong, þat if a litil drope þerof falle vpon ȝoure hond, anoon it wole perce it þoruȝ-out; and in þe same maner it wole do, if it falle vpon a plate of venus.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Synonyms

• coper

See also

• Venus

References

• “Venus, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 14 June 2018.

Piedmontese

Etymology

From Latin vēnōsus.

Adjective

venus

1. venous