Xenium

//ˈziːnɪəm// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A gift or offering.

    "At Rochester the Bishop received a xenium or pension on St. Andrew's Day from the convent."

  2. 2
    A gift or offering.; A gift or offering given to a guest or a stranger, especially of food, in Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome. historical

Example

More examples

"At Rochester the Bishop received a xenium or pension on St. Andrew's Day from the convent."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin xenium, from Ancient Greek ξένιον (xénion), neuter accusative of ξένῐος (xénĭos, “pertaining to a guest”, adjective), ultimately from ξένος (xénos, “guest, stranger”). First attested in the 1700s.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.