ieiunus

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *jagjūnos, from Proto-Indo-European *Hyeh₂ǵ-yu-, adjectival form of *Hyeh₂ǵ- (“to sacrifice”). Cognates include Sanskrit यजति (yájati, “he worships, he sacrifices”), Ancient Greek ἅγιος (hágios, “sacred, holy”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /i̯ei̯ˈi̯uː.nus/, [i̯ɛi̯ˈi̯uːnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /jeˈju.nus/, [jeˈjuːnus]

Adjective

ieiūnus (feminine ieiūna, neuter ieiūnum); first/second-declension adjective

1. fasting, abstinent, hungry
2. (figuratively) dry, barren, unproductive
3. (figuratively) scanty, meager
4. insignificant, trifling

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ieiūnus	ieiūna	ieiūnum		ieiūnī	ieiūnae	ieiūna
Genitive	ieiūnī	ieiūnae	ieiūnī		ieiūnōrum	ieiūnārum	ieiūnōrum
Dative	ieiūnō		ieiūnō		ieiūnīs
Accusative	ieiūnum	ieiūnam	ieiūnum		ieiūnōs	ieiūnās	ieiūna
Ablative	ieiūnō	ieiūnā	ieiūnō		ieiūnīs
Vocative	ieiūne	ieiūna	ieiūnum		ieiūnī	ieiūnae	ieiūna

Derived terms

• ieiūnē
• ieiūnitās
• ieiūnium
• ieiūnō
• ientō

Descendants

• Aromanian: agiun, agiunu
• Dalmatian: dezun
• Catalan: dejú
• English: jejune, jejunum
• French: jeûne
• Friulian: zun, ğun
• Galician: xaxún

• Italian: digiuno
• Portuguese: jejum, jejuno
• Romanian: ajun
• Sardinian: deunu, deunzu, diunzu, geunu, giaunu, zeunu
• Spanish: ayuno, yeyuno
• Venetian: zun, dizun, dixun, dezun, dexun

References

• “ieiunus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “ieiūnus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 296