LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
suffix · neutersecond declension

-ium

-ium n (genitive -iī or -ī)
Classical[i.ũː]Ecclesiastical[i.um]

Meaning

  1. morphemeneuterUsed to form abstract nouns denoting offices from nouns naming positions or occupations.
    minister (“minister; servant”, noun) + -ium → ministerium n (“the office of a minister; ministry; service”)
    auspex + -ium → auspicium
  2. morphemeneuterUsed to form abstract nouns from verbs.
    dēsīderō (“to long for”, verb) + -ium → dēsīderium n (“wish, longing”)
    obsideō (“to remain; to besiege”, verb) + -ium → obsidium n (“siege, blockade”)
  3. New LatinmorphemeneuterSuffix appended to form names of chemical elements.

Origins

From -ius (suffix forming adjectives): as a nominal suffix (Suffix 1), a substantivisation of its neuter forms; as an adjectival suffix (Suffix 2), regularly declined forms. Compare Ancient Greek -ιον (-ion), Proto-Germanic *-(i)ją, Proto-Slavic *-ьje.

Descendants
  • Norwegian Bokmål-ium

Quick answers

What does -ium mean in Latin?
-ium, a suffix, means “Suffix appended to form names of chemical elements.”.
How do you pronounce -ium?
In classical Latin, [i.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [i.um].