venery

English

Alternative forms

• venarie (archaic)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛnəɹi/

Etymology 1

From Middle English venerie, borrowed from Middle French venerie, from Old French venerie (“hunting”), derived from vener, from Latin vēnor (“I hunt”).

Noun

venery (usually uncountable, plural veneries)

1. The hunting of wild animals.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, “A brief enumeration of Authors”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 24:

     There are extant of his in Greek, four books of Cynegeticks or venation, five of Halieuticks or piſcation, commented and publiſhed by Ritterhuſius; wherein deſcribing beaſts of venery and fiſhes […]

   • 1963, Thomas Pynchon, V.:

     But soon enough he’d wake up the second, real time, to make again the tiresome discovery that it hadn’t really ever stopped being the same simple-minded, literal pursuit; V. ambiguously a beast of venery, chased like the hart, hind or hare, chased like an obsolete, or bizarre, or forbidden form of sexual delight.

2. Game animals.

Derived terms

• beast of venery
• term of venery

Related terms

• venison

Translations

hunting

• French: vènerie (fr) f
• Hungarian: vadászat (hu)
• Italian: venazione (it) f
• Polish: łowiectwo (pl) n

Etymology 2

From Middle English venery, venerie, venerye, borrowed from Medieval Latin veneria, from venus (“love”).

Noun

venery (countable and uncountable, plural veneries)

1. The pursuit of sexual indulgence or pleasure.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Mandrakes of Leah”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 7th book, page 301:

     […] Opium it ſelf is conceived to extimulate unto venery, and for that intent is ſometimes uſed by Turkes, Perſians, and moſt orientall Nations; […]

   • 1791, Oliver Goldsmith, “Of Venemous Serpents in General”, in An History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume VII, London: […] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr. [John] Nourse, […], →OCLC, page 191:

     [T]he ſalt of vipers is alſo thought to exceed any other animal ſalt vvhatever, in giving vigour to the languid circulation, and prompting to venery.

Related terms

• venereal

Anagrams

• Verney