crassus

See also: Crassus

Latin

Alternative forms

grassus (Late Latin)

Etymology

Uncertain; suggested to be from Proto-Indo-European *kert- (“to wind”),^[1] and compared to crātis (“wickerwork”), however this is semantically doubtful. Possibly connected to grossus (“coarse; thick”), also of unknown origin.^[2]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkras.sus/, [ˈkräs̠ːʊs̠]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkras.sus/, [ˈkräsːus]

Adjective

crassus (feminine crassa, neuter crassum, comparative crassior, superlative crassissimus); first/second-declension adjective

dense, thick, solid
fat, gross, plump
aquae crassae ― deep waters, swollen waters

fīlum crassum ― a thick thread

homō crassus ― a fat person, a plump person

toga crassa ― a thick toga
(of a liquid) concentrated, thick; turgid
(of the weather) heavy, thick, dense; murky
(figuratively) crass, stupid, dull, stolid

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Number	Singular			Plural
Nominative	crassus	crassa	crassum	crassī	crassae	crassa
Genitive	crassī	crassae	crassī	crassōrum	crassārum	crassōrum
Dative	crassō	crassae	crassō	crassīs
Accusative	crassum	crassam	crassum	crassōs	crassās	crassa
Ablative	crassō	crassā	crassō	crassīs
Vocative	crasse	crassa	crassum	crassī	crassae	crassa

Synonyms

(dense, thick): dēnsus, pinguis

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

> Old French: cras (inherited)
→ Catalan: cras
→ German: krass
→ Hunsrik: krass
→ Italian: crasso
→ Portuguese: crasso
→ Romanian: cras
→ Spanish: craso

Reflexes of the late variant grassus:

Balkan Romance:
- Aromanian: gras
- Romanian: gras
Italo-Romance:
- Italian: grasso
- Sicilian: rassu, grassu
Padanian:
- Gallo-Italic:
  - Lombard: grass
  - Romagnol: gras
  - Piedmontese: grass
- Friulian: gras
- Venetian: graso, gras
Gallo-Romance:
- Catalan: greix
- Franco-Provençal: grâs
- Gascon: grèish
- Old French: gras (see there for further descendants)
- Occitan: gras
Ibero-Romance:
- Aragonese: graixo
- Galician: graxo
- Portuguese: graxo
- Spanish: graso
Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: rassu
⇒ Vulgar Latin: *crassia (see there for further descendants)

References

^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “kert-, kerət-, krāt-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 584
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “crassus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 141

“crassus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“crassus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
crassus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- with no intelligence or skill: crassa or pingui Minerva (proverb.)
“crassus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
“crassus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray

[1] Pokorny, Julius (1959) “kert-, kerət-, krāt-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 584

[2] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “crassus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 141

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