What does fasti mean?
The fasti were, in ancient Rome, the official records of the days on which legal and public business was permitted. The word comes from fas, the notion of divine sanction, so a dies fasti was a day the gods allowed for assemblies and court proceedings, while its opposite, the dies nefasti, was reserved for religious observance. Over time, fasti came to mean not only this sanctioned calendar but also broader public registers — lists of consuls, triumphs, priests, and festivals maintained year after year. The best-known literary use is Ovid's Fasti, an unfinished poem in six books that walks through the Roman month by month, explaining the festivals and legends attached to each date. Today the word survives mainly in classical scholarship, where terms like fasti consulares denote reconstructed lists of magistrates on which much Roman chronology depends.
nounIn ancient Rome, the fasti were the calendar days on which legal business and public assemblies were permitted, as opposed to the dies nefasti; the word also denotes official lists or records of such days, festivals, and notable events.
- In ancient Rome, the list of days on which courts could sit and public business was lawful.
- Official registers or annals recording annual magistrates, festivals, and other recurring events.
"The pontiffs consulted the fasti before fixing the date of the festival."
"According to the fasti, the trial had to be postponed until a day when the courts could lawfully sit."
"Scholars reconstruct the careers of Roman consuls largely from fragments of the fasti consulares."
Fasti is a plural-only noun; there is no singular form in common English use, so the word always appears with plural agreement.
"The fasti preserve the sequence of Roman magistrates year by year."
Ovid wrote a whole poem called the Fasti — a month-by-month tour of the Roman year that ancient Romans themselves used as their almanac.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of fasti
Fasti derives directly from Latin fasti, the neuter plural of fastus 'day fit for business', itself rooted in fas, the concept of divine law and what is divinely permitted. The same root gives English 'nefarious' via Latin nefas, the forbidden counterpart of fas, and connects more distantly to fanum ('shrine'), which yields 'profane'. The word entered English scholarly usage through Renaissance humanist study of Roman antiquity, notably alongside Ovid's poem of the same name.
How fasti is actually used
A plural-only noun used almost exclusively in historical, classical, or scholarly contexts; in everyday modern speech it is rare and typically appears in reference to Roman antiquity or Ovid's poem.
Easily confused with fasti
'Feisty' describes a lively, aggressive temperament, while 'fasti' refers to Roman calendars or lists of permitted days.