venum

See also: věnům

Latin

Alternative forms

• vaenum
• vēnus (theoretical form used as lemma by some dictionaries)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *wesnos, from Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to sell, buy”), whence also vīlis. Cognate to Ancient Greek ὦνος (ônos, “price”), ὠνέομαι (ōnéomai, “to buy”), Sanskrit वस्न (vasna, “price”), वस्नयति (vasnayati, “to haggle”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈu̯eː.num/, [ˈu̯eːnʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈve.num/, [ˈvɛːnum]

Noun

vēnum m (accusative)

1. Forms two-place compound verbal expressions, imparting the meaning "for sale"

   pecus vēnum agere ― to drive cattle for sale

   • c. 125 CE – 180 CE, Apuleius, Metamorphoses 8.19.4:

     Eum rogāvit ūnus ē nostrīs, habēretne vēnuī lactem

     One of us asked him if he had milk for sale

Usage notes

When followed by dō, frequently spelled as one word vēnumdō, vēnundō, which historically was further syncopated into vēndō. This is an example of incorporation.

Declension

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

Case	Singular
Nominative	—
Genitive	—
Dative	vēnuī vēnō
Accusative	vēnum
Ablative	—
Vocative	—

Derived terms

• vēnāliciārius
• vēnālīcius
• vēnālis
• vēneō < vēnum eō
• vēndō < vēnum dō
  • vēnditiō
  • vēnditō
  • vēnditor

Further reading

• “venus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “venum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• venum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Middle English

Verb

venum

1. Alternative form of venymen