sidus

Esperanto

Verb

sidus

1. conditional of sidi

Gothic

Romanization

sidus

1. Romanization of 𐍃𐌹𐌳𐌿𐍃

Ido

Verb

sidus

1. conditional of sidar

Latin

Etymology

Tentatively thought to derive from a Proto-Italic *sīþos (“mark, _target”), with a putative semantic shift (from hunters' jargon) from "_target" > "star". Further origin unclear, with multiple theories proposed:

• Some derive this from Proto-Indo-European *sweyd- (“sweat”), whence Latin sūdor, Ancient Greek ἱδρώς (hidrṓs), English sweat; however there are phonetic problems, most notably the initial /s/ in Greek instead of expected */h/.
• Rix, connecting the word to Ancient Greek ῑ̓θῠ́ς (īthús, “straight, just”) and Sanskrit साध् (sādh, “to go straight to a goal”), derives the terms from a Proto-Indo-European *seHdʰ- (“to achieve a goal”), and the Latin from a reduplicative form *si-sHdʰ-u- > *sisdʰu- > *sizdu- > *sīdu-. This is semantically tenuous.
• Compare Ancient Greek σίδηρος (sídēros, “iron”). This is semantically unconvincing.
• Possibly borrowed from a substrate.
• Perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European *sh₂i-dʰh₁-o- (“binding”), from *sh₂ey- (“to bind, tie, fasten”), whence saeculum (“age, race, generation”). De Vaan tentatively prefers this derivation.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈsiː.dus/, [ˈs̠iːd̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsi.dus/, [ˈsiːd̪us]

Noun

sīdus n (genitive sīderis); third declension

1. group of stars, constellation, asterism
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 1.457–458:

     Intereā Delphīn clārum super aequora sīdus tollitur

     Meanwhile the Dolphin, a bright constellation, is being risen over the surface of the sea

2. a star

   Synonyms: astēr, astrum, stēlla

3. (poetic) the night sky
4. (figuratively) a season (of the year)

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	sīdus	sīdera
genitive	sīderis	sīderum
dative	sīderī	sīderibus
accusative	sīdus	sīdera
ablative	sīdere	sīderibus
vocative	sīdus	sīdera

Derived terms

• cōnsīderō
• dēsīderō
• sīderālis
• sīdereus
• sīderor

See also

• stella
• astrum

References

• “sidus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sidus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sidus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a star-light night: nox sideribus illustris
    
  • the fixed stars: sidera certis locis infixa
    
  • astronomy: astrologia (pure Latin sidera, caelestia)
    
  • an astronomer: spectator siderum, rerum caelestium or astrologus
    
• “sidus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “sidus”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly