blanditia

Latin

Etymology

From blandus +‎ -itia.

Noun

blanditia f (genitive blanditiae); first declension

1. flattery, compliment
2. caress
3. charm
4. (plural) flatteries, blandishments, allurements
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.867–868:

     poscite tūre datō fōrmam populīque favōrem,
     poscite blanditiās dignaque verba iocō

     Pray, with [an offering of] frankincense, that you will be given beauty and popular favor; pray for [artful] allurements and words suitable for amusement.
     (Prostitution in Ancient Rome: Religious observances to honor Venus were held in April.)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	blanditia	blanditiae
Genitive	blanditiae	blanditiārum
Dative	blanditiae	blanditiīs
Accusative	blanditiam	blanditiās
Ablative	blanditiā	blanditiīs
Vocative	blanditia	blanditiae

Related terms

• blandus
• blandities

Descendants

• Catalan: blandícia
• Galician: blandicia
• Italian: blandizia
• Portuguese: blandícia
• Spanish: blandicia

References

• “blanditia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “blanditia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• blanditia 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)
• blanditia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be led astray, corrupted by the allurements of pleasure: voluptatis blanditiis corrumpi