English

Noun

pignus ‎(plural pignora)

1. (law, obsolete, Ancient Rome) A pledge or pawn.

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ-. See related terms.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpiɡ.nus/, [ˈpɪŋ.nʊs]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpi.ɲus/, [ˈpiɲ.ɲus]

Noun

pignus n ‎(genitive pignoris); third declension

1. pledge, mortgage
2. hostage
3. wager, stake

Inflection

Third declension neuter.

Derived terms

• pignerō

Related terms

Descendants

• Albanian: peng
• Italian: pegno
• Portuguese: penhor
• Spanish: peño, prenda

References

• pignus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• pignus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• PIGNUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “pignus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• pignus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pignus in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin