manes
manes Lexical Profile
manes Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The growth of long, thick hair on the neck of a horse, lion, or other mammal (plural of 'mane').
"The wild horses galloped across the plain with their dark manes streaming in the wind."
In ancient Roman religion, the deified souls or spirits of dead ancestors, revered as benevolent guardians of the family.
"Ancient Roman families regularly offered small libations of wine and honey to appease the manes of their departed ancestors."
• verb
To furnish or adorn with a mane (third-person singular present of 'mane').
"Thick golden fur manes the adult male lion and protects its throat during territorial disputes."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the deified spirits of the dead in Roman religion, 'manes' is a pluralia tantum noun pronounced as two syllables (/ˈmeɪniːz/), whereas the plural of an animal's 'mane' is pronounced as a single syllable (/meɪnz/).
• Rhymes for manes
Word Origin & Etymology
In the sense of ancestral spirits, borrowed from Latin Manes ('the good ones'), a euphemistic title derived from Old Latin manus ('good'); in the anatomical sense, the plural of mane, from Old English manu ('mane').