lares and penates

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The Word of the Day for November 26 is: 

lares and penates   \LAIR-eez-end-puh-NAY-teez\   noun
          1 : household gods
    *2 : personal or household effects

Example sentence:
          “Well, Mr. F., his wife, children, mother and stepdaddy, along with 
his lares and penates, moved out of here forever on a pick-up last Tuesday.” 
(Flannery O'Connor, Letter, June 1, 1957)

Did you know?
          The phrase “lares and penates” is at home in the elevated writings of 
scholars. A classicist could tell you that Lares and Penates were Roman gods 
once worshipped as guardians of the household, and an avid Walpolian might be 
able to tell you that his or her favorite author (Horace Walpole) is credited 
with first domesticating the phrase to refer to a person’s possessions. In the 
centuries since Walpole used “lares and penates” in a 1775 letter to the 
English poet William Mason, the phrase has become solidly established in the 
English language, and it continues to be used by authors and journalists today. 





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