sternuo

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *(p)st(e)rnu- (“to sneeze”), presumably with imitative deformation; the internal *-r- in the Latin word and its presumed cognates makes the word unlikely to be independently formed in all the branches it is found in. Cognate with Welsh trew (“sneeze”), Breton strevia, Ancient Greek πταρμός (ptarmós, “sneeze”), and Armenian փռշտալ (pʻṙštal, “to sneeze”). Also compare other onomatopoeic formations like Polish kichać, Russian чихать (čixatʹ), Lithuanian čiáudėti, and Sanskrit क्षु (kṣu).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈster.nu.oː/, [ˈs̠t̪ɛrnuoː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈster.nu.o/, [ˈst̪ɛrnuo]

Verb

sternuō (present infinitive sternuere, perfect active sternuī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem

1. (intransitive) to sneeze

Conjugation

Conjugation of sternuō (third conjugation, no supine stem, active only)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	sternuō	sternuis	sternuit	sternuimus	sternuitis	sternuunt
	imperfect	sternuēbam	sternuēbās	sternuēbat	sternuēbāmus	sternuēbātis	sternuēbant
	future	sternuam	sternuēs	sternuet	sternuēmus	sternuētis	sternuent
	perfect	sternuī	sternuistī	sternuit	sternuimus	sternuistis	sternuērunt, sternuēre
	pluperfect	sternueram	sternuerās	sternuerat	sternuerāmus	sternuerātis	sternuerant
	future perfect	sternuerō	sternueris	sternuerit	sternuerimus	sternueritis	sternuerint
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	sternuam	sternuās	sternuat	sternuāmus	sternuātis	sternuant
	imperfect	sternuerem	sternuerēs	sternueret	sternuerēmus	sternuerētis	sternuerent
	perfect	sternuerim	sternuerīs	sternuerit	sternuerīmus	sternuerītis	sternuerint
	pluperfect	sternuissem	sternuissēs	sternuisset	sternuissēmus	sternuissētis	sternuissent
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	sternue	—	—	sternuite	—
	future	—	sternuitō	sternuitō	—	sternuitōte	sternuuntō
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		sternuere	sternuisse	—	—	—	—
participles		sternuēns	—	—	—	—	—
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		sternuendī	sternuendō	sternuendum	sternuendō	—	—

Derived terms

• sternūmentum
• sternūtō
• sternūtum

Related terms

• sternūtāmentum
• sternūtātiō

References

• “sternuo”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sternuo”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sternuo in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.