sextarius

English

Etymology

From Latin sextārius (“one-sixth”), from sextus (“sixth”) + -ārius (“-ary: forming adj.”). Doublet of sextary.

Noun

sextarius (plural sextariuses or sextarii)

1. (historical) A Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of 1⅔ Roman pound of wine and equivalent to about 0.54 L although varying slightly over time.
2. (historical) A Roman unit of dry measure.

Synonyms

• (unit of liquid volume): sextary, Roman pint, pint (Roman contexts)

Coordinate terms

• (unit of liquid measure): lingula (1/48 sextarius), cyathus (1/12 sextarius), acetabulum (⅛ sextarius), quartarius (¼ sextarius), hemina (½ sextarius), congius (6 sextariuses), urna (24 sextariuses), amphora (48 sextariuses), culeus (960 sextariuses)
• (unit of dry measure): hemina (½ sextarius), modius (16 sextariuses)

Latin

Etymology

From sextus (“sixth”) +‎ -ārius.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /sekˈstaː.ri.us/, [s̠ɛkˈs̠t̪äːriʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /sekˈsta.ri.us/, [sekˈst̪äːrius]

Noun

sextārius m (genitive sextāriī or sextārī); second declension

1. (historical) sextarius, a Roman unit of liquid measure equivalent to about 0.54 L
2. (historical) sextarius, a Roman unit of dry measure

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sextārius	sextāriī
Genitive	sextāriī sextārī1	sextāriōrum
Dative	sextāriō	sextāriīs
Accusative	sextārium	sextāriōs
Ablative	sextāriō	sextāriīs
Vocative	sextārie	sextāriī

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Coordinate terms

• (unit of liquid measure): lingula (1/48 sextarius), cyathus (1/12 sextarius), acetabulum (⅛ sextarius), quartarius (¼ sextarius), hemina (½ sextarius), congius (6 sextarii), urna (24 sextarii), amphora (48 sextarii), culeus (960 sextarii)
• (unit of dry measure): hemina (½ sextarius), modius (16 sextarii)

Descendants

• English: sextary, sextarius
• Galician: sesteiro
• Italian: sestaio, staio
• Old French: sestier

References

• “sextarius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “sextarius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sextarius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “sextarius”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “sextarius”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin