"tenebrae" meaning in Latin

See tenebrae in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: [ˈtɛ.nɛ.brae̯] [Classical-Latin], [ˈtɛː.ne.bre] (note: modern Italianate Ecclesiastical), [tɛˈnɛb.rae̯] [Classical-Latin], [teˈnɛb.re] (note: modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) Forms: tenebrārum [genitive], no-table-tags [table-tags], tenebrae [nominative, plural], tenebrārum [genitive, plural], tenebrīs [dative, plural], tenebrās [accusative, plural], tenebrīs [ablative, plural], tenebrae [plural, vocative]
Etymology: With regressive dissimilation (*m-b > n-b) from *temabrāi, nominalized feminine plural from Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-, from *témHos. Related to temere. Etymology templates: {{root|la|ine-pro|*temH-}}, {{der|la|itc-pro|*temazros||dark}} Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”), {{inh|la|ine-pro||*temH-(e)s-ro-}} Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro- Head templates: {{la-noun|tenebrae<1>|g=f}} tenebrae f pl (genitive tenebrārum); first declension Inflection templates: {{la-ndecl|tenebrae<1>}}
  1. darkness, especially the darkness of night Tags: declension-1, feminine, plural
    Sense id: en-tenebrae-la-noun-RCPIgi9H
  2. (poetic) shadow of death Tags: declension-1, feminine, plural, poetic
    Sense id: en-tenebrae-la-noun-t54AjqSc
  3. prison, dungeon Tags: declension-1, feminine, plural Synonyms: carcer
    Sense id: en-tenebrae-la-noun-JMpc7pXi Categories (other): Latin feminine nouns in the first declension Disambiguation of Latin feminine nouns in the first declension: 18 19 25 19 19
  4. (by extension) gloom or darkness of the mind Tags: broadly, declension-1, feminine, plural
    Sense id: en-tenebrae-la-noun-WC035iT0
  5. (Medieval Latin) pervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness Tags: Medieval-Latin, declension-1, feminine, plural
    Sense id: en-tenebrae-la-noun-9GDIKXEQ Categories (other): Medieval Latin, Latin entries with incorrect language header, Latin pluralia tantum, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries Disambiguation of Latin entries with incorrect language header: 5 5 25 14 50 Disambiguation of Latin pluralia tantum: 13 13 13 13 49 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 5 5 17 13 60 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 5 5 13 10 67
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: obtenebrō, tenebellae, tenebrārius, tenebrātiō, tenebrēscō, tenebricō, tenebricōsus, tenebricus, tenebriō, tenebrōsus

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*temH-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*temazros",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dark"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "",
        "4": "*temH-(e)s-ro-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "With regressive dissimilation (*m-b > n-b) from *temabrāi, nominalized feminine plural from Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-, from *témHos. Related to temere.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tenebrārum",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no-table-tags",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "table-tags"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "la-ndecl",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "inflection-template"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrae",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrārum",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "genitive",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrīs",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "dative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrās",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "accusative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrīs",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "ablative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrae",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "vocative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "tenebrae<1>",
        "g": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "tenebrae f pl (genitive tenebrārum); first declension",
      "name": "la-noun"
    }
  ],
  "inflection_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "tenebrae<1>"
      },
      "name": "la-ndecl"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "obtenebrō"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebellae"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebrārius"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebrātiō"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebrēscō"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebricō"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebricōsus"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebricus"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebriō"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "word": "tenebrōsus"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "lūx"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.",
          "ref": "405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2",
          "text": "Terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.",
          "translation": "And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "darkness, especially the darkness of night"
      ],
      "id": "en-tenebrae-la-noun-RCPIgi9H",
      "links": [
        [
          "darkness",
          "darkness"
        ],
        [
          "night",
          "night"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "glosses": [
        "shadow of death"
      ],
      "id": "en-tenebrae-la-noun-t54AjqSc",
      "links": [
        [
          "shadow",
          "shadow"
        ],
        [
          "death",
          "death"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(poetic) shadow of death"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural",
        "poetic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "18 19 25 19 19",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin feminine nouns in the first declension",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "prison, dungeon"
      ],
      "id": "en-tenebrae-la-noun-JMpc7pXi",
      "links": [
        [
          "prison",
          "prison"
        ],
        [
          "dungeon",
          "dungeon"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "carcer"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "gloom or darkness of the mind"
      ],
      "id": "en-tenebrae-la-noun-WC035iT0",
      "links": [
        [
          "gloom",
          "gloom"
        ],
        [
          "mind",
          "mind"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) gloom or darkness of the mind"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Medieval Latin",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 5 25 14 50",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "13 13 13 13 49",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Latin pluralia tantum",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 5 17 13 60",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "5 5 13 10 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              259,
              267
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              418,
              426
            ]
          ],
          "english": "And yet had I touched upon illustrious men of our time, I will not say that I should have introduced your name (lest in my present anger I should seem to flatter you, a thing which is not my habit even when well disposed), but most assuredly I should not have passed over in silence either your uncle or your father. I did not wish for the sake of so few famous names, however, to guide my pen so far and through such darkness. Therefore sparing myself the excess both of subject-matter and of effort, I have determined to fix a limit to my history long before this century.",
          "ref": "1359, Franciscus Petrarca, “Franciscus Petrarca Agapito de Columna S. P. D.: Ægre fert incusari se ob partas divitias amicorum oblivione captum insolescere.” (epistola VIII, pages 28–34), in Josephus Fracassettus, editor, Epistolæ de Rebus Familiaribus et Variæ, volume III, Florentia: Felix Le Monnier, published 1863, book XX, pages 30–31:",
          "text": "Quamquam si illustres ævi nostri viros attigissem, non dicam te, ne tibi, quod placatus non soleo, iratus adulari videar, at certe nec patruum, nec patrem tuum silentio oppressurus fuerim. Nolui autem pro tam paucis nominibus claris, tam procul tantasque per tenebras stilum ferre: ideoque vel materiæ vel labori parcens, longe ante hoc sæculum historiæ limitem statui ac defixi.",
          "translation": "And yet had I touched upon illustrious men of our time, I will not say that I should have introduced your name (lest in my present anger I should seem to flatter you, a thing which is not my habit even when well disposed), but most assuredly I should not have passed over in silence either your uncle or your father. I did not wish for the sake of so few famous names, however, to guide my pen so far and through such darkness. Therefore sparing myself the excess both of subject-matter and of effort, I have determined to fix a limit to my history long before this century.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "pervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness"
      ],
      "id": "en-tenebrae-la-noun-9GDIKXEQ",
      "links": [
        [
          "pervasive",
          "pervasive"
        ],
        [
          "benightedness",
          "benightedness"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Medieval Latin) pervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Medieval-Latin",
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈtɛ.nɛ.brae̯]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈtɛː.ne.bre]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[tɛˈnɛb.rae̯]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[teˈnɛb.re]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tenebrae"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "Latin 3-syllable words",
    "Latin entries with incorrect language header",
    "Latin feminine nouns",
    "Latin feminine nouns in the first declension",
    "Latin first declension nouns",
    "Latin lemmas",
    "Latin nouns",
    "Latin pluralia tantum",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic",
    "Latin terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *temH-",
    "Latin terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European",
    "Latin terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*temH-"
      },
      "expansion": "",
      "name": "root"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "itc-pro",
        "3": "*temazros",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dark"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”)",
      "name": "der"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "la",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "",
        "4": "*temH-(e)s-ro-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "With regressive dissimilation (*m-b > n-b) from *temabrāi, nominalized feminine plural from Proto-Italic *temazros (“dark”), from Proto-Indo-European *temH-(e)s-ro-, from *témHos. Related to temere.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "tenebrārum",
      "tags": [
        "genitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "no-table-tags",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "table-tags"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "la-ndecl",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "inflection-template"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrae",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "nominative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrārum",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "genitive",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrīs",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "dative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrās",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "accusative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrīs",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "ablative",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "tenebrae",
      "source": "declension",
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "vocative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "tenebrae<1>",
        "g": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "tenebrae f pl (genitive tenebrārum); first declension",
      "name": "la-noun"
    }
  ],
  "inflection_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "tenebrae<1>"
      },
      "name": "la-ndecl"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Latin",
  "lang_code": "la",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "obtenebrō"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebellae"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebrārius"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebrātiō"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebrēscō"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebricō"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebricōsus"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebricus"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebriō"
    },
    {
      "word": "tenebrōsus"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "lūx"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "Latin terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "english": "And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.",
          "ref": "405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Genesis.1.2",
          "text": "Terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.",
          "translation": "And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "darkness, especially the darkness of night"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "darkness",
          "darkness"
        ],
        [
          "night",
          "night"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Latin poetic terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "shadow of death"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "shadow",
          "shadow"
        ],
        [
          "death",
          "death"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(poetic) shadow of death"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural",
        "poetic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "prison, dungeon"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "prison",
          "prison"
        ],
        [
          "dungeon",
          "dungeon"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "carcer"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "gloom or darkness of the mind"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "gloom",
          "gloom"
        ],
        [
          "mind",
          "mind"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(by extension) gloom or darkness of the mind"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "broadly",
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Latin terms with quotations",
        "Medieval Latin"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              259,
              267
            ]
          ],
          "bold_translation_offsets": [
            [
              418,
              426
            ]
          ],
          "english": "And yet had I touched upon illustrious men of our time, I will not say that I should have introduced your name (lest in my present anger I should seem to flatter you, a thing which is not my habit even when well disposed), but most assuredly I should not have passed over in silence either your uncle or your father. I did not wish for the sake of so few famous names, however, to guide my pen so far and through such darkness. Therefore sparing myself the excess both of subject-matter and of effort, I have determined to fix a limit to my history long before this century.",
          "ref": "1359, Franciscus Petrarca, “Franciscus Petrarca Agapito de Columna S. P. D.: Ægre fert incusari se ob partas divitias amicorum oblivione captum insolescere.” (epistola VIII, pages 28–34), in Josephus Fracassettus, editor, Epistolæ de Rebus Familiaribus et Variæ, volume III, Florentia: Felix Le Monnier, published 1863, book XX, pages 30–31:",
          "text": "Quamquam si illustres ævi nostri viros attigissem, non dicam te, ne tibi, quod placatus non soleo, iratus adulari videar, at certe nec patruum, nec patrem tuum silentio oppressurus fuerim. Nolui autem pro tam paucis nominibus claris, tam procul tantasque per tenebras stilum ferre: ideoque vel materiæ vel labori parcens, longe ante hoc sæculum historiæ limitem statui ac defixi.",
          "translation": "And yet had I touched upon illustrious men of our time, I will not say that I should have introduced your name (lest in my present anger I should seem to flatter you, a thing which is not my habit even when well disposed), but most assuredly I should not have passed over in silence either your uncle or your father. I did not wish for the sake of so few famous names, however, to guide my pen so far and through such darkness. Therefore sparing myself the excess both of subject-matter and of effort, I have determined to fix a limit to my history long before this century.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "pervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "pervasive",
          "pervasive"
        ],
        [
          "benightedness",
          "benightedness"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(Medieval Latin) pervasive artistic, cultural, intellectual, moral, or spiritual benightedness"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Medieval-Latin",
        "declension-1",
        "feminine",
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈtɛ.nɛ.brae̯]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[ˈtɛː.ne.bre]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[tɛˈnɛb.rae̯]",
      "tags": [
        "Classical-Latin"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[teˈnɛb.re]",
      "note": "modern Italianate Ecclesiastical"
    }
  ],
  "word": "tenebrae"
}

Download raw JSONL data for tenebrae meaning in Latin (6.4kB)

{
  "called_from": "parser/449",
  "msg": "ITALIC not properly closed on the same line",
  "path": [
    "tenebrae"
  ],
  "section": "Latin",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "tenebrae",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Latin dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (96027d6 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.