Introduction
Sextus Pompeius Festus is the author of a Latin lexicon of the Roman imperial period, known as De Verborum Significationibus (On the Meaning of Words: Macrobius, Sat. 3.8.9), and based on an earlier work by Verrius Flaccus (55 BCE-CE 20), tutor to Augustus’ grandsons. Its etymologies and grammatical explanations of unusual or archaic words are richly detailed, and it contains often unique information on the history and legends, language and literature, political, social and religious institutions, laws, monuments and topographical traditions of ancient Rome and Italy. The text draws on late Republican antiquarian writers, and preserves numerous fragments of early Latin authors, above all Ennius, Plautus and Cato the Elder.
Sextus Pompeius Festus is the author of a Latin…
1052 words
Citation: Glinister, Fay. "De verborum significatu". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 December 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=33494, accessed 13 December 2024.]