previous next
prŏfānus , a, um, adj. pro - fanum; prop. before the temple, i. e. outside of it; hence, opp. to the temple as a sacred object,
I.unholy, not sacred, common, profane.
I. Lit.: profanum quod non est sacrum, Plautus: Sacrum an profanum habeas parvi penditur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 228 Müll.; cf.: “profanum est, quod fani religione non tenetur,Fest. p. 253 ib.: Trebatius profanum id proprie dici ait, quod ex religioso vel sacro in hominum usum proprietatem conversum est, Macr. S. 3, 3, 2: “loci consecrati an profani,Cic. Part. 10, 36; “opp. sacrum,Plaut. Merc. 2, 3, 27 cum omnia illā victoriā suā profana fecisset, Cic. Verr 2, 4, 55, § 122: “res profanae et usu pollutae,Tac. A. 13, 57: “flamma,Ov. F. 6, 440: “usus,Plin. 15, 30, 40, § 135.—Of persons: procul o, procul este, profani, Conclamat vates, ye uninitiated, Verg A. 6, 258: “Cereris ritus vulgare profanis, Ov A. A. 2, 601 profanum vulgus,Hor. C. 3, 1, 1: vulgus, Gell. N A. praef. fin.
II. Transf.
A. Wicked, impious (poet.): “mens profana, Ov M 2, 833: verba,id. Tr. 3, 5, 48: “odia,Stat. Th. 1, 1: profanus Phorbas, Ov M. 11, 413 sit spes fallendi, miscebis sacra profanis, Hor Ep. 1, 16, 54.— Subst. prŏfānum , i, n., wickedness, impiety (post-Aug.): “civilium bellorum profano,Plin. 16, 4, 3, § 7.—
B. Unlearned, ignorant (post-class.); with gen.: “litterarum profani (opp.: doctrina initiati),Macr. Somn. Scip. 1, 18; Min. Fel. Oct. 5: “qui profani sunt a sacramento veritatis,strangers to, Lact. 2, 15, 2: “a veritate,id. 2, 16, 13; 7, 24, 10.—
C. Ill-boding (poet.): “profanus bubo, Ov M 6, 431 avis,id. ib. 5, 543.— Hence, adv.: prŏfānē , wickedly, profanely (post-class.); “illudere,Lact. 6, 23, 10: “de divinitate disputare,Min. Fel. Oct. 8.
hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
hide References (5 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (5):
    • Tacitus, Annales, 13.57
    • Plautus, Mercator, 2.3
    • Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia, 16.7
    • Statius, Thebias, 1
    • Ovid, Fasti, 6
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: