fidamen
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 06:00. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Forms
fīdāmen n (genitive fīdāminis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin fīdō (“to trust”) + -men.[1][2]
Earliest recorded meaning
The only passage the dictionaries cite is line 83 of the poem to a senator, Carmen ad senatorem: corrige delictum fidamine, “correct your fault with trust”.[1] Lewis and Short list the poem under Tertullian;[1] Köbler dates it to the 5th century.[2]
Semantic evolution
Lewis and Short mark the word as post-classical; it means trust or confidence.[1]