cena

See also: Appendix:Variations of "cena"

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Latin cēna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈsɛ.nə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈse.na]
• Homophone: sena

Noun

cena f (plural cenes)

1. (Christianity, often capitalized) ellipsis of Santa Cena; Last Supper
2. (archaic) synonym of sopar (“supper”)

Further reading

• “cena” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
• “cena”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “cena”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech cěna, from Proto-Slavic *cěna, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kainā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sɛna]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛna

Noun

cena f

1. price
2. prize

Declension

Declension of cena (hard feminine)

	singular	plural
nominative	cena	ceny
genitive	ceny	cen
dative	ceně	cenám
accusative	cenu	ceny
vocative	ceno	ceny
locative	ceně	cenách
instrumental	cenou	cenami

Related terms

adjectives

• bezcenný
• cenný
• cenový

nouns

• cenička
• cenina
• ceník
• cenovka

verbs

• cenit
• ocenit

Further reading

• “cena”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “cena”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “cena”, in Akademický slovník současné češtiny, 2012–2025, slovnikcestiny.cz
• “cena”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2025

Gallurese

Alternative forms

• zena (Aggius)

Etymology

Inherited from Classical Latin cēna, from Old Latin cesna, from Proto-Italic *kertsnā, from Proto-Indo-European *kért-sneh₂ (“portion”), derived from the root *(s)kert- (“to cut”), from *(s)ker-

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛna/

Noun

cena f (plural ceni)

1. dinner

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃe.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ena
• Hyphenation: cé‧na

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin cēna, from Proto-Italic *kertsnā, from Proto-Indo-European *kért-s-nh₂ (“portion”), from *ker-, *sker-. Compare Spanish cena, Portuguese ceia and Romanian cină.

Noun

cena f (plural cene)

1. dinner (evening meal)

Derived terms

• cenare
• cenata
• cenerella
• cenetta
• cenettina
• cenina
• cenino
• cenona
• cenone
• cenuccia
• L'Ultima Cena

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

cena

1. inflection of cenare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

See also

• colazione
• pranzo

Anagrams

• acne, cane

Kashubian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛ.na/
• Rhymes: -ɛna
• Syllabification: ce‧na

Noun

cena f

1. price (cost required to gain possession of something)

   Synonym: priz

2. value (meaning of something)

Derived terms

nouns

• cennik

verbs

• cenic impf

Further reading

• Stefan Ramułt (1893), “cena”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego (in Kashubian), page 16
• Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011), “cena”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎^[1]
• “cena”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Latin

Alternative forms

• coena, cœna

Etymology

From Old Latin cesna, from Proto-Italic *kertsnā (compare Umbrian śesna, Oscan kersnu), from Proto-Indo-European *kért-sneh₂ (“portion”), from root *(s)kert- (“to cut”), from *(s)ker- (compare Lithuanian kérti, Armenian քերթել (kʻertʻel, “to skin”), Sanskrit कृन्तति (kṛntáti, “he cuts (in pieces)”)). Related to cortex, scortum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkeː.na]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ʃɛː.na]

Noun

cēna f (genitive cēnae); first declension

1. dinner, supper, principal meal (anciently taken at noon, afterwards later)
2. (Medieval Latin, law, historical) gwestva (a duty levied by Welsh kings twice a year upon the free men of their kingdom)

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cēna	cēnae
genitive	cēnae	cēnārum
dative	cēnae	cēnīs
accusative	cēnam	cēnās
ablative	cēnā	cēnīs
vocative	cēna	cēnae

Derived terms

• antecēnium
• cēnāculum
• cēnāticus
• cēnō
• cēnula
• concēna
• domicēnium

Related terms

• cēnācellum
• cēnāculāria
• cēnāculārium
• cēnāculārius
• cēnāculātus
• cēnāssō
• cēnāticum
• cēnātiō
• cēnātiuncula
• cēnātor
• cēnātōria
• cēnātōrium
• cēnātōrius
• cēnāturiō
• cēnātus
• cēnitō
• concēnātiō
• incēnātus
• incēnō
• percēnō
• succēnō

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian: tsinã
  • Romanian: cină
• Dalmatian:
  • caina
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: cena
    • → Sicilian: cena
  • Neapolitan: cena
• Padanian:
  • Friulian: cene
  • Ligurian: çenn-a
  • Lombard: sèna, zèna, scèna, sina
  • Piedmontese: sin-a, sen-a, sèina, sna
  • Romansch: tschaina
  • Venetan: sena, çéna, ẑena
• Northern Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: céna (dialectal)
• Southern Gallo-Romance:
  • >? Aragonese: cena
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: cẽa, cea
    • Galician: cea
    • Portuguese: ceia
  • Spanish: cena
• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: chena (Logudorese), cena (Campidanese)

Borrowings

• → Catalan: cena
• → French: cène, Cène
• → Occitan: cena
• → Proto-Brythonic: *kinjọ
  • Middle Cornish: ciniow
    • Cornish: kinnyow
  • Middle Welsh: kinyaw
    • Welsh: cinio
• → Proto-Brythonic:
  • Middle Breton: coan
    • Breton: koan
  • Middle Cornish: coyn
    • Cornish: kon
  • Welsh: cwyn

Verb

cēnā

1. second-person singular present active imperative of cēnō

References

• “cena”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cena”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "cena", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “cena”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the main dish: caput cenae (Fin. 2. 8. 25)
    
  • to invite some one to dinner: aliquem vocare, invitare ad cenam
    
  • to accept an invitiation to dinner: promittere (ad cenam) (Off. 3. 14. 58)
    
  • during dinner; at table: inter cenam, inter epulas
    
  • to invite oneself to some one's house for dinner: condicere alicui (ad cenam)
    
  • to welcome some one to one's table: adhibere aliquem cenae or ad cenam, convivio or in convivium
    
  • to set a repast before a person: cenam alicui apponere
    
• “cena”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “cena”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Latvian

Etymology

Borrowed from Slavic *cěna.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sæna]

Noun

cȩna f (4th declension)

1. price

Declension

Declension of cena (4th)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative	cena	cenas
genitive	cenas	cenu
dative	cenai	cenām
accusative	cenu	cenas
instrumental	cenu	cenām
locative	cenā	cenās
vocative	cena	cenas

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃeː.nɑ/

Noun

ċēna

1. genitive plural of ċēn

Old Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /t͡sʲɛːna/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /t͡sʲena/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěna. The shift from cana to cena was a generalization of forms such as w cenie, cenić, etc. First attested in the 15th century.

Alternative forms

• cana

Noun

cena f

1. (attested in Greater Poland) price, value
   • 1874-1891 [15th century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności‎^{[3], [4], [5]}, volume XXIV, Grochów, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Kcynia, page 64:

     Sine omni taxa czany

     [Sine omni taxa cany]

Derived terms

verbs

• cenić impf

Descendants

• Polish: cena
• Silesian: cena

Etymology 2

See cyna.

Noun

cena f

1. alternative form of cyna

References

• Boryś, Wiesław (2005), “cena”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
• Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965), “cena”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
• Mańczak, Witold (2017), “cena”, in Polski słownik etymologiczny (in Polish), Kraków: Polska Akademia Umiejętności, →ISBN
• Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000), “cena”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “cena”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Old Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěna. First attested in 1473.

Noun

cena f

1. price (cost required to gain possession of something)
2. value (meaning of something)

Descendants

• Pannonian Rusyn: цена (cena)
• Slovak: cena

References

• Majtán, Milan et al., editors (1991–2008), “cena”, in Historický slovník slovenského jazyka [Historical Dictionary of the Slovak Language] (in Slovak), volumes 1–7 (A – Ž), Bratislava: VEDA, →OCLC

Polish

Alternative forms

• czyna (Middle Polish)

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛ.na/

• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡se.na/
• (Greater Poland):
  • (Central Greater Poland) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛ.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛna
• Syllabification: ce‧na

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Polish cena.

Noun

cena f

1. price (cost required to gain possession of something)
2. value (meaning of something)

   Synonym: wartość

3. (Middle Polish, mathematics) value; size (size of a number; property of measurability)

   Synonym: wielkość

Declension

Declension of cena

	singular	plural
nominative	cena	ceny
genitive	ceny	cen
dative	cenie	cenom
accusative	cenę	ceny
instrumental	ceną	cenami
locative	cenie	cenach
vocative	ceno	ceny

Derived terms

adjectives

• cenny
• cenowy

adverbs

• za cenę krwi
• za pół ceny
• za wszelką cenę
• za żadną cenę

nouns

• cena fabryczna

verbs

• cenić impf

verbs

• być w cenie impf
• nie mieć ceny impf
• zapłacić cenę pf, płacić cenę impf

Related terms

adjectives

• bezcenny
• drogocenny

adverbs

• bezcennie
• za bezcen

nouns

• bezcenność
• cennik
• ocena
• przecena
• wycena

Trivia

According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), cena is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 15 times in scientific texts, 25 times in news, 58 times in essays, 4 times in fiction, and 12 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 114 times, making it the 531st most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

Etymology 2

See cyna.

Noun

cena f

1. (Central Greater Poland, Oborniki) alternative form of cyna

Further reading

• cena in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• cena in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “1. cena”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Krystyna Siekierska (30.01.2019), “CENA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “cena”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “cena”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “cena”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 262
• cena in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• scena (pre-reform spelling)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin sc(a)ena.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsẽ.nɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsẽ.nɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈse.na/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈse.nɐ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -enɐ, (Brazil) -ẽnɐ
• Homophones: sena, Sena
• Hyphenation: ce‧na

Noun

cena f (plural cenas)

1. scene (location of an event that attracts attention)
2. (theater, film, television, radio) scene (part of a dramatic work)
3. (theater) stage

   Synonym: palco

   em cena ― on stage

4. scene (combination of objects or events in view or happening at a given moment at a particular place)
   • 2008 [1976], Sonia Coutinho, “Essas tardes de maio”, in Uma certa felicidade, 3rd edition, Rio de Janeiro: 7Letras, →ISBN, page 70:

     Sim, o tempo passando desfoca devagar as lentes da memória, embala-nos pouco a pouco, ao sabor dos incidentes cotidianos, deixo a firma, arranjo outro emprego e outro(s) homem(ns), as cenas antigas vão perdendo seu brilho, mas ainda lembro Rodrigo.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

5. (informal) scene (vague group of people with a uniting interest)
   • 2018 December 17, Claudia Beatriz Iaragnoit Villela, “Os 20 anos da Pulsação”, Claudia Bia, in O Município‎^[6], Brusque, archived from the original on 15 November 2024:

     Mais uma comemoração de ano redondo marcando este 2018. Desta vez, são os 20 anos da banda Pulsação, aquela que, alguns anos depois, preencheu o espaço vazio deixado pela cena do rock dos anos 80 de Brusque […]

     Another comemoration with a round-number year has marked 2018. This time, it's the 20 years of the Pulsação band, the one that, some years later, filled the empty space left by 80's rock scene in Brusque.

6. (Portugal, informal) thing

   Synonyms: coisa, (Brazil) negócio

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:cena.

Related terms

• cena de amor
• cena do crime
• cenário
• cênico
• cenografia
• roubar a cena

Sassarese

Pronunciation

• (Castelsardo) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃɛna/

Noun

cena f (plural ceni)

1. (dialectal) alternative form of zena (“dinner”)

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• cijéna (Ijekavian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěna, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kainā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sěːna/
• Hyphenation: ce‧na

Noun

céna f (Cyrillic spelling це́на) (Ekavian)

1. price
2. value, worth

Declension

Declension of cena

	singular	plural
nominative	cena	cene
genitive	cene	cena
dative	ceni	cenama
accusative	cenu	cene
vocative	ceno	cene
locative	ceni	cenama
instrumental	cenom	cenama

Derived terms

• cijeniti/ceniti

Silesian

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish cena.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt͡sɛ.na/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛna
• Syllabification: ce‧na

Noun

cena f

1. price (cost required to gain possession of something)
   • 2018, Waldemar Szymczyk, editor, 9292‎^[7], →ISBN, archived from the original on 12 November 2022, page 22:

     Na fejsbuku to wy mi ceny jajec abo masła niy łobniżycie.

     You all won't lower the price of eggs or butter for me on Facebook.

Slovak

Etymology

Inherited from Old Slovak cena, from Proto-Slavic *cěna, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kainā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sena]

• Audio (Bratislava):

  (file)

Noun

cena f (relational adjective cenový)

1. price
2. value (meaning of something)
3. reward, prize
4. (sports) trophy; competition

Declension

Declension of cena
(pattern žena)

	singular	plural
nominative	cena	ceny
genitive	ceny	cien
dative	cene	cenám
accusative	cenu	ceny
locative	cene	cenách
instrumental	cenou	cenami

Derived terms

• cenov
• cenove
• cenovo

Further reading

• “cena”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Slovene

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *cěna, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *kainā́ˀ, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡sèːna/

Noun

cẹ́na f

1. price (cost required to gain possession of something)

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Feminine, a-stem
nom. sing.	céna
gen. sing.	céne
	singular	dual	plural
nominative (imenovȃlnik)	céna	céni	céne
genitive (rodȋlnik)	céne	cén	cén
dative (dajȃlnik)	céni	cénama	cénam
accusative (tožȋlnik)	céno	céni	céne
locative (mẹ̑stnik)	céni	cénah	cénah
instrumental (orọ̑dnik)	céno	cénama	cénami

Further reading

• “cena”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “cena”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈθena/ [ˈθe.na] (Spain)
• IPA^(key): /ˈsena/ [ˈse.na] (Latin America, Philippines)

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ena
• Syllabification: ce‧na
• Homophone: (outside Spain) sena

Etymology 1

Inherited from Latin cēna, from Proto-Italic *kertsnā, from Proto-Indo-European *kért-s-nh₂ (“portion”), from *ker-, *sker-.

Noun

cena f (plural cenas)

1. supper, dinner

Derived terms

• última cena

Related terms

• cenar

Etymology 2

Verb

cena

1. inflection of cenar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “cena”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024