Latin edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Past participle of maereō with active meaning.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

maestus (feminine maesta, neuter maestum, comparative maestior, superlative maestissimus, adverb maestē); first/second-declension adjective

  1. sad, sorrowful, melancholy
    Synonyms: trīstis, infēlīx, miser, aeger
    Antonyms: laetus, alacer, fēlīx
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.84:
      nōn tibi sunt maestā sacra canenda lyrā.
      For you, sacred themes are not to be sung with a sorrowful lyre.
  2. gloomy
  3. mournful, of or pertaining to mourning or sadness
    • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.202–203:
      “Revocātē animōs, maestumque timōrem mittite.”
      “Revive your courage, and dismiss your mournful fear.”
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 3.134:
      hoc lūget spatiō fēmina maesta virum
      This is how long a mournful woman grieves [for] her husband.

Declension edit

First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative maestus maesta maestum maestī maestae maesta
Genitive maestī maestae maestī maestōrum maestārum maestōrum
Dative maestō maestō maestīs
Accusative maestum maestam maestum maestōs maestās maesta
Ablative maestō maestā maestō maestīs
Vocative maeste maesta maestum maestī maestae maesta

Descendants edit

  • Old French: meste
  • Italian: mesto
  • Portuguese: mesto

References edit

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