lar
lar — noun
1. In ancient Roman culture, a spirit that kept watch over a single home. The famil
In ancient Roman culture, a spirit that kept watch over a single home. The family worshipped their lar alongside the hearth-goddess Vesta and the storeroom guardians known as the Penates.
Gaius placed a clay statue of his family's lar on the hearth each evening.
possessive: family's lar
On her wedding day, Octavia received the family's lar figure from her mother.
collocation: lar figure
Each morning the household offered a little wine at the shrine of their lar.
A young Roman put a small lar statue inside his first home to guard it.
- penates
The Penates watched over the food stores specifically, whereas the Lar protected the whole family and home.
- household god
A general English term for any domestic deity; 'lar' is the specific Roman name.
- tutelary spirit
A broader term for any guardian spirit in various cultures; 'lar' is restricted to ancient Rome.
文法句型
the + lar
family's lar
household lar
用法筆記
Usually appears with a possessive or definite article (the family's lar, their lar) because each household had its own tutelary spirit. The plural form is lares.