nefas

Latin

Alternative forms

• nephās (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

From ne (“not”) +‎ fās (“divine law”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈne.faːs/, [ˈnɛfäːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈne.fas/, [ˈnɛːfäs]

Noun

nefās n sg (indeclinable, no genitive)

1. wrong; (moral) offense; wicked act; misdeed or misdoing
2. forbidden deed or act

Declension

Not declined; used only in the nominative and accusative singular, singular only.

	singular
nominative	nefās
genitive	—
dative	—
accusative	nefās
ablative	—
vocative	—

Derived terms

• nefārius
• nefāstus

References

• “nefas”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “nefas”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nefas in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.