lenis

English

Etymology

Latin lenis (“soft, smooth”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: lē'nəs, lā'nəs, IPA: /ˈliːnɪs/, /ˈlɛnɪs/, SAMPA: /"lin@s/, /"leIn@s/

Adjective

lenis (not comparable)

1. (phonetics) weakly articulated (of a consonant), hence voiced; especially as compared to the others of a group of homorganic consonants.

Derived terms

• lenition

Anagrams

• liens
• lines

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Latin

Etymology 1

Cognate to Old Church Slavonic лѣнъ (lěnŭ, “lazy”), whence Russian ленивый (lenivyj, “lazy”), and to Lithuanian lė́nas (“slow, calm”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈleː.nis/

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Adjective

lēnis m. and f., lēne n.; third declension

1. soft, smooth, gentle
2. gradual
3. moderate, mild, calm

Inflection

Number	Singular			Plural
Case \ Gender	M.F.	N.		MM.FF.	NN.
nominative	lēnis	lēne		lēnēs	lēnia
genitive	lēnis	lēnis		lēnium	lēnium
dative	lēnī	lēnī		lēnibus	lēnibus
accusative	lēnem	lēne		lēnēs	lēnia
ablative	lēnī	lēnī		lēnibus	lēnibus
vocative	lēnis	lēne		lēnēs	lēnia

Related terms

lēnē lēnīmen lēnīmentum lēniō

lēnitās lēniter lēnitūdō

Descendants

• English: lenis
• Italian: lene
• Romanian: lin
• Spanish: lene

Etymology 2

Inflected form of lēna (“madame, procuress”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈleː.niːs/

Noun

lēnīs

1. dative plural of lēna
2. ablative plural of lēna