ornamentum

Latin

Etymology

ōrnō +‎ -mentum

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /oːr.naːˈmen.tum/, [oːrnäːˈmɛn̪t̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /or.naˈmen.tum/, [ornäˈmɛn̪t̪um]

Noun

ōrnāmentum n (genitive ōrnāmentī); second declension

1. equipment, apparatus, furniture
2. decoration, ornament, embellishment
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.44:

     Amicitiam populi Romani sibi ornamento et praesidio, non detrimento esse oportere, atque se hac spe petisse.

     That the friendship of the Roman people ought to prove to him an ornament and a safeguard, not a detriment; and that he sought it with that expectation.

3. adornment, (plural) regalia
4. jewel, jewelry

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ōrnāmentum	ōrnāmenta
Genitive	ōrnāmentī	ōrnāmentōrum
Dative	ōrnāmentō	ōrnāmentīs
Accusative	ōrnāmentum	ōrnāmenta
Ablative	ōrnāmentō	ōrnāmentīs
Vocative	ōrnāmentum	ōrnāmenta

Descendants

• Catalan: ornament
• Galician: ornamento
• Italian: ornamento
• Old French: ornement (see there for further descendants)
• Portuguese: ornamento
• Russian: орнамент (ornament)
• Spanish: ornamento
• Swedish: ornament

References

• “ornamentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ornamentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ornamentum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.