ămoenus, a, um, adj. [amo; some comp. ἀμείνων], lovely, delightful, pleasant, charming (in gen. of objects affecting the sense of sight only; as a beautiful landscape, gardens, rivers, pictures, etc.: amoena loca.. quod solum amorem praestentetad se amanda adliciant, Varr. ap. Isid. Orig. 14: amoena sunt loca solius voluptatis plena, Serv. ad Verg. A. 5, 734; while jucundus is used both in a phys. and mental sense; cf. Doed. Syn. III. p 36; class. in prose and poetry).
I Lit.: amoena salicta, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 40 Vahl.): Ennius, qui primus amoeno Detulit ex Helicone perenni fronde coronam, who first from the charming Helicon , etc., Lucr. 1, 117: fons, id. 4, 1024: locus, Cic. de Or. 2, 71, 290: praediola, id. Att. 16, 3, 4: loca amoena voluptaria, Sall. C. 11, 5 Kritz: amoena piorum Concilia, Verg. A. 5, 734: Devenere locos laetos et amoena virecta Fortunatorum nemorum sedesque beatas, id. ib. 6, 638: rus, Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 6: aquae, aurae, id. C. 3, 4, 7: hae latebrae dulces, etiam, si credis, amoenae, delightful to me (subjectively), but also in and of themselves (objectively) pleasant , id. Ep. 1, 16, 15 Schmid.; cf. Doed. Syn. III. p. 35: amoenae Farfarus umbrae, Ov. M. 14, 330, where Merkel, opacae Farfarus undae : amoenissima aedificia, Tac. H. 3, 30: pictura, Plin. 35, 10, 37, 116 fin. —In reproach: cultus amoenior, too showy , coquetting , Liv. 4, 44, 11.—As subst., ămoena , ōrum, n. (cf. abditus, etc.), pleasant places : per amoena Asiae atque Achaiae, Tac. A. 3, 7: amoena litorum, id. H. 3, 76. —
II Transf. to other things (rare, and for the most part only post-Aug.): vita, Tac. A. 15, 55: ingenium, id. ib. 2, 64; so id. ib. 13, 3: animus, i. e. amoenitatibus deditus, Aur. Vict. Epit. 1: amoenissima verba, Gell. 2, 26; 16, 3; 18, 5 al.—Hence, adv. *
a Old form ămoenĭter : hilare atque amoeniter vindemiam agitare, joyfully and delightfully , Gell. 20, 8.—
b Usu. form ămoenē ; * in respect to smell, sweetly , fragrantly , Plaut. Mil. 2, 5, 2; of a dwelling, pleasantly (in sup. ), Plin. Ep. 4, 23; of discourse (in comp. ), Gell. 14, 1, 32.