Latinus

See also: latinus and latīņus

Latin

Alternative forms

latīnus

Etymology

From Lati- +‎ -īnus.

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /laˈtiː.nus/, [ɫ̪äˈt̪iːnʊs̠]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laˈti.nus/, [läˈt̪iːnus]

Adjective

Latīnus (feminine Latīna, neuter Latīnum, adverb Latīnē); first/second-declension adjective

Latin; of or pertaining to the Latin language, people, or culture
nōmen Latīnum ― the Latin right/citizenship (iūs Latiī)

poēta Latīnus ― a Latin-writing (male) poet
- 3rd c. BCE, Naevius, Epitaphium :
  Inmortales mortales si foret fas flere,
  flerent divae Camenae Naevium poetam.
  Itaque postquam est Orchi traditus thesauro,
  obliti sunt Romae loquier linguā Latinā.
  If the immortals were allowed to weep for mortals,
  the divine Muses would weep for Naevius the poet.
  After he was carried to Pluto's treasure vault,
  the Romans forgot to speak Latin.
- c. 35 CE – 100 CE, Quintilian, Institutiones Oratoriae 2.14.5:
  Ne pugnemus igitur, cum praesertim plurimis alioqui Graecis sit utendum. Nam certe et "philosophos" et "musicos" et "geometras" dicam, nec vim adferam nominibus his indecora in Latinum sermonem mutatione.
  So let's not fight over it, considering that in many other cases, Greek nouns have to be used. Certainly, I will say philosophos, musicos and geometras, and I will not do violence to these nouns by turning them uglily into Latin words.
- early 7th c. CE, Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae sive Origines 9.1:
  Tres sunt autem linguae sacrae: Hebraea, Graeca, Latina, quae toto orbe maxime excellunt. His enim tribus linguis super crucem Domini a Pilato fuit causa eius scripta.
  Three are the sacred languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which most greatly excel in the world. It was in these three languages that Pilate wrote the Lord's legal charge on His cross. (ref. to John 19:20)

Usage notes

With verbs of translation, the neuter singular is generally used for both the _target and source languages: librum ē Graecō in Latīnum reddō ("I am translating a book from Greek into Latin").

Aside from the latter, language adjectives are extremely rarely used on their own in pre-Classical, Classical and Late Latin, becoming more common not until well into the medieval period; adverbs like Latīnē are used instead, e.g. Latīnē loquantur ("they should speak Latin"). For situations where this isn't possible, e.g. as the subject of a verb, the noun lingua must be included: Lingua Latīna placet, et prōdest! ("Latin is a joy, and is useful!").

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular			plural
nominative	Latīnus	Latīna	Latīnum	Latīnī	Latīnae	Latīna
genitive	Latīnī	Latīnae	Latīnī	Latīnōrum	Latīnārum	Latīnōrum
dative	Latīnō	Latīnae	Latīnō	Latīnīs
accusative	Latīnum	Latīnam	Latīnum	Latīnōs	Latīnās	Latīna
ablative	Latīnō	Latīnā	Latīnō	Latīnīs
vocative	Latīne	Latīna	Latīnum	Latīnī	Latīnae	Latīna

Derived terms

Related terms

Latius

Descendants

North Italian:
- Piedmontese: ladin (“sliding”), lein
- Ladin: ladin (linguistic autonym)
- Lombard: ladin (“sliding, agile”), ledin (“smooth, sleek”), lidin (“smooth, light”), ladí (“easily to move”)
- Romansch: ladin (“nimble”)
Gallo-Romance:
- Franco-Provençal: leino (“easy”), laina (“agile”)
Occitano-Romance:
- Old Catalan: lladí (“crafty”)
Ibero-Romance:
- Asturian: lladín, llaín, laín (“crafty”)
- Portuguese: ladinho (“pure”)
- Spanish: ladino (“crafty”), Ladino (“Judeo-Spanish”)
  - → Portuguese: ladino
Ancient borrowings:
- → Albanian: lëtí
- → Middle High German: latîn
  - German: Latein
- → Old Irish: Laiten
  - Irish: Laidin
  - Manx: Ladjyn
  - Scottish Gaelic: Laideann
Learned borrowings
- → Albanian: latín
- → Asturian: llatín
- → English: Latin
- → Catalan: llatí
- → French: latin
- → Italian: latino
- → Portuguese: latino
- → Romanian: latin
- → Spanish: latino
  - → English: latino

References

Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “latīnus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 5: J L, page 199