creber

Latin

Etymology

Apparently from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁- (“to grow”), the same root of Latin crēscō, +‎ *-rós, but the /b/ lacks explanation. Perhaps from Proto-Italic *krēzros, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱreh₁-s-ro- (compare crābrō < *krāzrō for the phonetics), or from a suffixed verb *ḱreh₁-dʰh₁- (compare ruber < *ruðros).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkreː.ber/, [ˈkreːbɛr]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkre.ber/, [ˈkrɛːber]

Adjective

crēber (feminine crēbra, neuter crēbrum, comparative crēbrior, superlative crēberrimus, adverb crēbrē or crēbriter or crēbrō); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

1. thick, dense

   Synonyms: stīpātus, dēnsus

2. numerous, frequent, repeated

   Synonym: frequēns

   • c. 125 CE – 180 CE, Apuleius, Apologia 1.1:

     Quae ego cum intellegerem nōn tam crīmina iūdiciō quam obiectāmenta iūrgiō prōlāta, ultrō eōs ad accūsandum crēbrīs flāgitātiōnibus prōvocāvī.

     When I understood these things were not so much crimes for a trial, but reproaches for a quarrel, I challenged them further with frequent demands to make the accusation.

3. abundant, crowded with

Usage notes

May describe physical objects that appear in a multitude, or immaterial objects.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	crēber	crēbra	crēbrum		crēbrī	crēbrae	crēbra
Genitive	crēbrī	crēbrae	crēbrī		crēbrōrum	crēbrārum	crēbrōrum
Dative	crēbrō		crēbrō		crēbrīs
Accusative	crēbrum	crēbram	crēbrum		crēbrōs	crēbrās	crēbra
Ablative	crēbrō	crēbrā	crēbrō		crēbrīs
Vocative	crēber	crēbra	crēbrum		crēbrī	crēbrae	crēbra

Derived terms

• crēbra
• crēbrē
• crēbrēscō
• crēbritās
• crēbriter
• crēbrō

Descendants

• → English: crebrous
• → Italian: crebro
• → Portuguese: crebro

References

• “creber”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “creber”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• creber in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • rich in ideas: sententiis abundans or creber (opp. sententiis inanis)
    
  • to place a close line of sentry-posts: vigilias crebras ponere (Sall. Iug. 45. 2)
    
  • to make a sally, sortie from the town: crebras ex oppido excursiones facere (B. G. 2. 30)