unguentum

Latin

Etymology

From unguō (“I smear, I anoint”) +‎ -entus. Compare ōmentum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /unˈɡʷen.tum/, [ʊŋˈɡʷɛn̪t̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /unˈɡwen.tum/, [uŋˈɡwɛn̪t̪um]

Noun

unguentum n (genitive unguentī); second declension

1. ointment; perfume; unguent.
   • c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmen 13 11-14:

     nam unguentum dabo, quod meae puellae,
     donarunt Veneres Cupidinesque,
     quod tu cum olfacies, deos rogabis,
     totum ut te faciant, Fabulle, nasum.

     for I will give you perfume, which to my girl
     Venuses and Cupids have given,
     which when you smell it, you will ask the gods,
     to make you, Fabullus, all nose

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	unguentum	unguenta
Genitive	unguentī	unguentōrum
Dative	unguentō	unguentīs
Accusative	unguentum	unguenta
Ablative	unguentō	unguentīs
Vocative	unguentum	unguenta

• In Plautus, the genitive plural is found as unguentum rather than unguentōrum.

Derived terms

• unguentāria
• unguentārium
• unguentārius
• unguentātus
• unguentō

Related terms

• unctum
• unctus
• ungō
• unguēdō
• unguen
• unguinōsus

Descendants

• → English: unguent
• French: onguent
• → Galician: ungüento, ingüento (semi-learned)
• Italian: unguento
• Spanish: ungüento

References

• “unguentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “unguentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• unguentum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “unguentum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “unguentum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin