flamen

[ fley-muhn, -men ]

noun

, plural fla·mens, fla·mi·nes [flam, -, uh, -neez].

1. (in ancient Rome) a priest.

flamen

/ ˈfleɪmɛn /

noun

1. (in ancient Rome) any of 15 priests who each served a particular deity

Word History and Origins

Origin of flamen¹

1300–50; < Latin flamen (perhaps earlier *flādmen; akin to Old English blōtan to sacrifice); replacing Middle English flamin < Latin flāmin- (stem of flāmen )

Word History and Origins

Origin of flamen¹

C14: from Latin; probably related to Old English blōtan to sacrifice, Gothic blotan to worship

Example Sentences

A drear and dying sound Affrights the flamens at their service quaint.

From Project Gutenberg

Ye venerable sages, and holy flamens, is there probability in your conjectures, truth in your stories, of another world beyond death; or are they all alike baseless visions and fabricated fables?

From Project Gutenberg

The religious affairs of each were conducted by a priest called curio assisted by a flamen curialis.

From Project Gutenberg

But the flamens stopped; the great concourse halted by rank and rank until the slackening and final cessation of movement imprisoned the dissenters that were resolved to go on.

From Project Gutenberg

There were then in Britain eight and twenty flamens, as also three archflamens, to whose jurisdiction the other judges and enthusiasts were subject.

From Project Gutenberg