Penates

or pe·na·tes

[ puh-ney-teez, -nah- ]

plural noun

, Roman Religion.

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

penates

/ pəˈnɑːtiːz /

plural noun

1. See lares and penates

Word History and Origins

Origin of Penates¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Penates¹

Latin

Example Sentences

The most prominent and revered of them all were the Lares and Penates.

From Literature

Every Roman family had a Lar, who was the spirit of an ancestor, and several Penates, gods of the hearth and guardians of the storehouse.

From Literature

There were also public Lares and Penates, who did for the city what the others did for the family.

From Literature

Starting with the mid-19th-century former rectory in which he lives, he introduces us to a universe of fact, anecdote, history and whimsy spun out of the lares and penates around him.

From Washington Post

The Penates are one of a growing number of mixed-status families that have been affected by the record number of deportations in recent years.

From Washington Post