Lares Penates Household Gods Roman New Age Lair Eez End Puh Nay Teez Noun

1. Household gods (the benevolent gods in an ancient Roman household).

2. Household goods (a family's treasured possessions).

[From Latin Lares et Penates, from Lares, plural of Lar (in Roman mythology, the deity or spirit who protected a household) + et (and) + Penates (deities of the household that were believed to bring wealth), from penus (provisions, interior of a house). Earliest documented use: 1616.]

"But let's face it, the nearest thing that many Aussies have in the way of religion, or, as it is labelled with new-age vagueness, spirituality, are those little do-it-yourself offerings to the roadside gods, the lares and penates of the new-age pantheists." - The Soft Toy Taking on a Religious Symbolism; The Canberra Times (Australia); Jan 14, 2006.

"The storehouse of all the shame and vulnerability in Ben's life would be locked; a private museum of curios with but one visitor, himself, to stare at the degraded and rejected lares and penates." - Kate Fillion; The Artful Forgery of the Self; The Toronto Star (Canada); Feb 6, 1993.