# bidens
## Latin
### Alternative forms

* duidēns

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈbi.dens/, [ˈbɪd̪ẽːs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈbi.dens/, [ˈbiːd̪ens]

### Etymology 1

From bi- (“two-”) +‎ dens (“tooth”).

#### Adjective

bidēns (genitive bidentis); third-declension one-termination adjective
* (literally) two-toothed
* (figuratively) two-pronged

##### Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

##### Derived terms

* bidental

##### Descendants

* Translingual: Bidens
* English: bident

### Etymology 2

Ellipsis of bidēns ovis f (“two-toothed sheep”), seemingly referring to a sheep of an age (typically between around 1 and 2 years old) when only the two front incisors in its lower jaw have been replaced by permanent teeth, which are larger and so stand out in contrast to the six remaining milk teeth.

#### Noun

bidēns f
* a sheep of an age suitable for certain sacrifices; also more generally, any sheep or any sacrificial animal
** 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.57:[...] mactant lēctās dē mōre bidentis, [...].[Dido and Anna] offer sacrifice — having chosen, in accordance with sacred custom, a two-toothed [sheep] — [...].
** 23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horace, Odes 3.23:Nam quae nivali pascitur Algido devota quercus inter et ilices aut crescit Albanis in herbis victima pontificum securis cervice tinguet: te nihil attinet temptare multa caede bidentium parvos coronantem marino rore deos fragilique myrto.2004 translation by Niall RuddThe victim marked out for sacrifice, that feeds on snowy Algidus among the oaks and holm oaks or grows fat in Alban pastures, will stain with its neck the pontiffs’ axes; but it is not for you to pester the little gods whom you decorate with rosemary and brittle myrtle by slaughtering numerous sheep.
** 8 CE, Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.575:Viridique e caespite factas placat odoratis herbosas ignibus aras vinaque dat pateris mactatarumque bidentum, quid sibi significent, trepidantia consulit exta1916 translation by Frank Justus Miller, G. P. GooldThen, making an altar of green turf, he appeased the gods with a fragrant burnt-offering, made a libation of wine, and consulted the quivering entrails of the slaughtered victims as to what they might mean for him.
** c. 45 CE – 96 CE, Statius, Thebaid 3.457:Principio fibris pecudumque in sanguine divos explorant; iam tum pavidis maculosa bidentum corda negant diraque nefas minitantia vena.2004 translation by D. R. Shackleton BaileyTo start, they explore the gods with entrails and in the blood of cattle; even then they take alarm as the spotted hearts of sheep threatening evil with ill-boding vein say them nay.
** c. 45 CE – 96 CE, Statius, Thebaid 4.416:...circumque bidentum visceribus laceris et odori sulphuris aura graminibusque novis et longo murmure purgat.2004 translation by D. R. Shackleton Baileyand purifies all around with mangled entrails of sheep and breath of odorous sulphur and fresh herbs and lengthy incantations.
** c. 83 CE – 96 CE, Silius Italicus, Punica 13.433:Inde tibi, Alecto, tibi, numquam laeta Megaera, corpora lanigerum procumbunt lecta bidentum.

##### Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem, ablative singular in -e or -ī).

### Etymology 3

Nominalization of the adjective, perhaps by ellipsis of a phrase headed by a masculine noun such as ligō m (“mattock, hoe”). Compare tridēns m.

#### Noun

bidēns m
* a two-pronged tool, such as an iron hoe or mattock
** 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.693–694:Ille suam peragēbat humum, sīve ūsus arātrī seu curvae falcis sīve bidentis erat.He was working the farm himself, whether there was need of a plow or a curved sickle or a two-pronged [hoe].

##### Declension

Third-declension noun (i-stem, ablative singular in -e or -ī).

### References

* ↑ Charles Knapp (1928) “Scholarship”, in The Classical Weekly, volume 21, number 11, page 82
* ↑ William Walker (1695) The Royal Grammar, Commonly Called Lilie's Grammar, Explained..., London, page 75

### Further reading

* “bidens”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “bidens”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* bidens in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* bidens in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* “bidens”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
* “bidens”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin