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albus

LatinEdit

 
flōs albus (a white flower)

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Italic *alβos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂elbʰós.

Cognates include Umbrian 𐌀𐌋𐌚𐌖 (alfu), Ancient Greek ἀλφός (alphós, “whiteness, white leprosy”), Hittite 𒀠𒉺𒀸 (alpas, “cloud”), Middle Welsh elbid (“world”) and English elf.

PronunciationEdit

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈal.bus/, [ˈaɫ.bʊs]
  • Audio (Classical)
    		(file)

AdjectiveEdit

albus (feminine alba, neuter album, comparative albior, superlative albissimus); first/second-declension adjective

  1. white (properly without luster), dull white
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Metamorphoses 12.402–403:
      totus pice nigrior atra, candida cauda tamen; color est quoque cruribus albus.
      All blacker than pitch was he, yet white was his tail; his legs were snowy white.
    • p. 830, Nennius, Historia Brittonum, II: 42
      duo vermes in eo sunt, unus albus et unus rufus
      "There are," said he, "two serpents, one white and the other red […] "
  2. clear, bright
  3. pale, fair, gray, hoary
    • p. 1250, Thomas Aquinas, De ente et essentia
      […] et sic de ipsa aliquid praedicatur per accidens ratione eius, in quo est, sicut dicitur quod homo est albus, quia Socrates est albus, quamvis hoc non conveniat homini in eo quod homo.
      And thus something is accidentally asserted, that is, we say that man is white because Socrates is white, although this does not come about for men because [Socrates] is a man.
  4. (figuratively) favorable, fortunate, auspicious, propitious

Usage notesEdit

Latin albus is used primarily to mean "white" that is dull or matte. The word candidus is used primarily for shining whiteness. However, this distinction is not always followed.

DeclensionEdit

First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative albus alba album albī albae alba
Genitive albī albae albī albōrum albārum albōrum
Dative albō albō albīs
Accusative album albam album albōs albās alba
Ablative albō albā albō albīs
Vocative albe alba album albī albae alba

SynonymsEdit

AntonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

See alsoEdit

Colors in Latin · colōrēs (layout · text)
     candidus, albus, niveus, cēreus, marmoreus, eburneus, cānus      rāvus, pullus, cinereus, cinericeus, plumbeus, grīseus      āter, niger, piceus
             pūniceus, murrhinus, rūfus, ruber, russus, rubrīcus, mulleus; cocceus, coccīnus, badius              rutilus, armeniacus, auranteus, aurantiacus; fuscus, colōrius, cervīnus, spādīx              gilvus, helvus, fulvus, flāvus, croceus, pallidus, lūteus, blondinus
             galbus, galbīnus, lūridus              viridis              prasinus
             cyaneus              caeruleus, azurīnus, blavus              glaucus; līvidus; venetus
             violāceus, ianthinus              ostrīnus, amethystīnus              purpureus, ātropurpūreus, roseus, rosāceus

ReferencesEdit

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