lectisternium · noun — an ancient "feast of the gods", at which images of the gods were set on couches around a feast table.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Why “lectisternium” is a great word
An ancient Roman propitiatory ceremony in which images of deities were placed on couches as if partaking in a ritual feast. From Latin lectisternium, from lectus ('couch, bed') + sternere ('to spread, strew'). Unlike a supplicatio, which centered on public processions and prayer, or an epulum, a feast held for the people, the lectisternium was a ceremony of divine hospitality—the draped couch in the forum, the bronze mask of Jupiter propped on pillows, the untouched cup of wine left to grow cold. It is the profound and unsettling act of setting a place for a power you cannot see, in the desperate hope it will accept the invitation.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin lectisternium.
noun
- An ancient "feast of the gods", at which images of the gods were set on couches around a feast table.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- sellisternium 68% match — A ritual feast, in Ancient Rome, to celebrate goddesses vs lectisternium →
- telesterion 60% match — A building used to celebrate sacred rites in Ancient Greece. vs lectisternium →
- lectica 55% match — A kind of Roman litter, typically with bedding, curtains, and four legs. vs lectisternium →
- lararium 55% match — In an ancient Roman home, the part of the house set aside as a shrine or chapel for the household gods. vs lectisternium →
- epulary 54% match — of or pertaining to feasts vs lectisternium →
- armilustrum 54% match — A festival, in Ancient Rome, in honour of Mars, the god of war. vs lectisternium →
- triclinium 53% match — A couch for reclining at mealtimes, extending round three sides of a table, and usually in three parts. vs lectisternium →
- xenismos 52% match — A ritual offering of a meal in Ancient Greece. vs lectisternium →