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nefas. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
nefas, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
nefas in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Latin
Etymology
From ne (“not”) + fās (“divine law”).
Pronunciation
Noun
nefās n sg (indeclinable, no genitive)
- wrong; (moral) offense; wicked act; misdeed or misdoing
29 BCE – 19 BCE,
Virgil,
Aeneid 2.585–586:
- “‘Extīnxisse nefās tamen et sūmpsisse merentīs / laudābor poenās .’”
- “‘Nevertheless, slain an offender, and exacted well-deserved punishments, I will be honored….’”
(Aeneas in soliloquy speaks two perfect active infinitives – extinxisse and sumpsisse – as he considers whether to kill Helen.)
- forbidden deed or act
Declension
Indeclinable noun (used only in the nominative and accusative), singular only.
Derived terms
References
- “nefas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “nefas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- nefas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.