munus

Latin

Alternative forms

• moenus

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *moinos.

Like mūnia (“duties”), it is derived from Proto-Indo-European *moy-nós, from *mey- (“change, swap”). As is the case with such derivatives as "municipality", and "immunity", the concept of trading goods and services in a way that conforms to a society's laws is quite pertinent to this term. From the addition of the "com-" prefix came commūnis (“common, public”), which is cognate to Proto-Germanic *gamainiz (“shared, communal, public”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmuː.nus/, [ˈmuːnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.nus/, [ˈmuːnus]

Noun

mūnus n (genitive mūneris); third declension

1. a service, office, employment
2. a burden, duty, obligation
3. a service, favor
4. a spectacle, public show
5. a gift

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	mūnus	mūnera
Genitive	mūneris	mūnerum
Dative	mūnerī	mūneribus
Accusative	mūnus	mūnera
Ablative	mūnere	mūneribus
Vocative	mūnus	mūnera

Derived terms

• commūnis
• immūnis
• mūnerābundus
• mūnerālis
• mūnerārius
• mūnerātiō
• mūnerātor
• mūnerigerulus
• mūnerō
• mūnia
• mūniceps
• mūnificēns
• mūnificus
• mūnicipium
• mūnis
• mūnusculum
• remūneror

Descendants

• Italian: muno
• Portuguese: múnus

References

• “munus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “munus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• munus 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)
• munus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to give a gladiatorial show: munus gladiatorium edere, dare (or simply munus edere, dare)
    
  • to live a perfect life: virtutis perfectae perfecto munere fungi (Tusc. 1. 45. 109)
    
  • banished from public life: rei publicae muneribus orbatus
    
  • to perform official duties: munus administrare, gerere
    
  • to perform official duties: munere fungi, muneri praeesse
    
  • to appoint some one to an office: muneri aliquem praeficere, praeponere
    
  • to fulfil the duties of one's position: munus explere, sustinere
    
  • to remove a person from his office: abrogare alicui munus (Verr. 2. 57)
    
  • a man who has held many offices: honoribus ac reipublicae muneribus perfunctus (De Or. 1. 45)
    
• “munus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “munus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin