Latin

Noun

cinis m, f ‎(genitive cineris); third declension

1. cold ashes
2. (figuratively) ruins of a burned city

Usage notes

The word cinis is used for cold, heavy ashes, while favilla is used for glowing, light ashes.

Sometimes, the plural form cinerēs seems as if it is written like a neuter noun with an -a ending: cinera. An example of this is found on Antonio Gramsci's tomb inscription, which reads, Cenera Antonii Gramscii, literally meaning "The ashes of Antonio Gramsci." This is because cinera is the plural form of a less-often used Latin word for ashes, cinus, cineris.

Inflection

Third declension.

Related terms

Descendants

See also

• favilla

References

• cinis in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• cinis in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• CINIS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “cinis”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.

Volapük

Noun

cinis

1. accusative plural of cin