Fescennine
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Obscene or scurrilous.
"[T]he frolicsome company had begun to practise the ancient and now forgotten pastime of High Jinks. This game was played in several different ways. Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain, for a time, a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order."
- 2 Of or pertaining to the ancient Etruscan town of Fescennia
- 3 obscene or scurrilous
"At this hour the seat was as in a theatre, but the words of the actors were of a nature somewhat too Fescennine for the public."
Example
More examples"[T]he frolicsome company had begun to practise the ancient and now forgotten pastime of High Jinks. This game was played in several different ways. Most frequently the dice were thrown by the company, and those upon whom the lot fell were obliged to assume and maintain, for a time, a certain fictitious character, or to repeat a certain number of fescennine verses in a particular order."
Etymology
From Latin Fescennīnus, from the name of the ancient Etruscan town of Fescennia, noted for the "Fescennine Verses", a tradition of scurrilous songs performed on special occasions.
From the Latin Fescennīnus.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.