Venous - Venus - vinous

These three words have been confused. Two are near homographs, and so can become victims of typographical errors; two (or, to some speakers, three) are homophones.

• The adjective venous is derived from the Latin vēna '[a] vein', and means 'to do with veins', 'vein-y'. (In the past, this meaning was sometimes carried by venal. AWE does not recommend this usage in modern academic English.) The standard pronunciation is 'VEE-nes', IPA: /ˈviːn əs/, although some speakers may realize it, to avoid confusion, with the vowel of 'vein': VAIN-es', /ˈveɪn əs/. Its common uses are in biological fields:
  • in botany, venous is used for 'with many, or prominent, veins'. It is applied mostly to leaves;
  • in zoology, it means 'to do with the veins [usually as opposed to the arteries]', and commonly
    • in biomedical applications, characterizing blood: venous blood is that which has become de-oxygenated, hence darker, returning to the heart, while arterial blood is that which, leaving the heart, is freshly oxygenated and brighter.
• The proper noun (hence written with an upper case initial letter) Venus, also pronounced 'VEE-nes', IPA: /ˈviːn əs/, is the name of the Roman goddess whose domain was that of love, sex and attraction, and so of (predominantly female) beauty. Some related meanings are:
  • any beautiful woman;
  • sexual desire, obsession, power and similar concepts (to be 'bitten by Venus' is to suffer a venereal disease);
  • any statue of Venus, like the Venus de Milo (a statue found in the Greek island of Milos), and, in archaeological terms, early figurines emphasizing the erogenous zones (breast, buttocks and genitals) of women. Whether these are "the characteristic products of unregenerated male imagination" (Times Lit[erary] Suppl[lement], 11/04/1958, cited OED), or ritual objects in some form of religious cult of fertility is debated.
• The adjective vinous is derived from the Latin vīnum 'wine', and means 'to do with wine'. Both LPD and OED recommend the pronunciation of the first vowel like that of 'wine' ( VINE-es', IPA: /ˈvaɪn əs/); but some of those who know Latin realize it like the long -i- of the Romance languages, 'VEE-nes', IPA: /ˈviːn əs/. This may be regarded as an error, as it allows ambiguity.

AWE also has a page distinguishing between Venal and venial, which may be helpful to you.