LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

acerbus

acerbus (feminine acerba, neuter acerbum, comparative acerbior, superlative acerbissimus, adverb acerbē)
Classical[aˈkɛr.bʊs]Ecclesiastical[aˈt͡ʃɛr.bus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectiveharsh, bitter, unripe, sour, premature, not yet marriageable
  2. adjectivesharp, severe, bitter (i.e., extremely painful)
    frīgus acerbumthe bitter cold
  3. adjectiverough, violent, severe, grievous, bitter
  4. adjectiveoppressive, distressing, sad
    acerbum incendiuma sad conflagrationc. 30 BCE, Cicero, Dē Lēgibus 2.24.61

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

nōn dulcis; pōma nōndum mātūra acerba sunt.
acerbus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Cibus et Convīvium

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Acerbus · Amarus

Acerbus (from κάρφω) means a biting bitterness, in opp. to mitis, like ὀξύς; amarus, a nauseous bitterness, in opp. to dulcis, like πικρός. Quintil. xi. 3. 169. Cic. Rep. iii. 8. Plin. H. N. xxvii. 9. Sen. Ir. i. 4. (vi. 4.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeacerbusacerbaacerbum
genitiveacerbīacerbaeacerbī
dativeacerbōacerbaeacerbō
accusativeacerbumacerbamacerbum
ablativeacerbōacerbāacerbō
vocativeacerbeacerbaacerbum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeacerbīacerbaeacerba
genitiveacerbōrumacerbārumacerbōrum
dativeacerbīsacerbīsacerbīs
accusativeacerbōsacerbāsacerba
ablativeacerbīsacerbīsacerbīs
vocativeacerbīacerbaeacerba

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

multa acerba expertus est
he has had many painful experiences.
pecuniam exigere (acerbe)
to demand payment.
vectigalia exigere (acerbe)
to exact the taxes (with severity).
acerbum dolorem alicui inurere
to cause any one very acute pain.

ăcerbus, a, um, adj. fr. 2. acer, like superbus fr. super, yet the short ă should be noticed,
I. harsh to the taste, of every object which has an astringent effect upon the tongue (opp. suavis, Lucr. 4, 661 sq.).
I. Prop.: Neptuni corpus acerbum, bitter, briny, Lucr. 2, 472; and esp. of unripe fruit, sharp, sour, harsh, and the like: uva primo est peracerba gustatu, deinde maturata dulcescit, Cic. de Sen. 15: saporum genera tredecim reperiuntur: acer, acutus, acerbus, acidus, salsus, etc., Plin. 15, 27, 32; and since the harshness of fruit is always a sign of immaturity, so Varro, Cicero, Pliny, et al. use acerbus as a syn. for crudus, immaturus, unripe, crude, lit. and trop.: nondum matura uva est, nolo acerbam sumere, Phaed. 4, 2, 4; so Ov. Am. 2, 14, 24; and trop.: impolitae res et acerbae si erunt relictae, Cic. Prov. Cons. 14; cf. Gell. 13, 2.—Hence: virgo acerba, not yet marriageable, Varr. ap. Non. 247, 15; and esp. poet. (opp. to virgo matura, v. maturus): funus acerbum, as a translation of the Gr. θάϝατος ἄωρος (Eur. Orest. 1030), Auct. Or. pro Dom. 16: ante diem edere partus acerbos, premature, Ov. F. 4, 647. —
B. Transf.
(a). to sounds, harsh, hoarse, rough, shrill: serrae stridentis acerbum horrorem, Lucr, 2, 410: vox acerbissima, Auct. Her. 4, 47;
(b). to feeling, sharp, keen: frigus, bitter, Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 53.
II. Fig.
A. Of men: Rough, coarse, repulsive, morose, violent, hard, rigorous, severe: melius de quibusdam acerbos inimicos mereri quam eos amicos, qui dulces videantur, Cic. Lael. 24: posse enim asotos ex Aristippi, acerbos e Zenonis schola exire, for there may go forth sensualists from the school of Aristippus, crabbed fellows from that of Zeno, id. N. D. 3, 31 (cf. acriculus): acerbissimi feneratores, id. Att. 6, 1; so of adversaries or enemies, violent, furious, bitter, Cic. Fam. 1, 4: acerbissimus hostis, id. Cat. 4, 6 fin.; so id. Fam. 3, 8: acerbus odisti, Hor. S. 1, 3, 85 K. and H.: quid messes uris acerba tuas? Tib. 1, 2, 98 al. —
B. Of things, harsh, heavy, disagreeable, grievous, troublesome, bitter, sad (very often, esp. in Cic.): ut acerbum est, pro benefactis cum mali messem metas! Plaut. Ep. 5, 2, 52; cf. Ter. Hec. 3, 1, 1; Att. ap. Non. 72, 29: in rebus acerbis, Lucr. 3, 54: acerbissimum supplicium, Cic. Cat. 4, 6: acerbissima vexatio, id. ib. 4, 1: acerba memoria temporis, id. Planc. 41: acerbissimā morte affectus, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 12, 2 al.—Hence acerbum funus (diff. from above), a bitter, painful death, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 35: acerbum funus filiae, id. As. 3, 3, 5, and so Nep. Cim. 4: vita ejus fuit secura et mors acerba, afflicting, painful, unwelcome.—In the neutr. subst.: ăcer-bum, i, calamity, misfortune, Ov. Tr. 5, 2, 21; Verg. A. 12, 500—acerba, n. plur. adv. acc. to the Gr. idiom, Lucr. 5, 34 (cf. acuta et al.), several times imitated by Verg. A. 12, 398; 9, 794; id. G. 3, 149.—Adv.: ăcerbe, harshly, sharply, severely, etc., in the trop. signif. of the adj., Cic. Fam. 1, 5; id. N. D. 2, 33; id. Planc. 1: idem acerbe severus in filium, id. Off. 3, 31, 112; Liv. 3, 50. 12; 7, 3, 9; Tac. A. 2, 87 al.—Comp., Cic. Lael. 16; Suet. Tib. 25.—Sup., Cic. Att. 11, 1; Caes. B. C. 1, 2; also Cic. Planc. 35, 86, where, of an exclamation of severe grief, acerbissime for acerrime is defended against Lambinus and Ernesti by Wunder, Planc. l. c. p. 217; so B. and K.

Origins

Inherited from Proto-Italic *akriðos, itself from earlier *akris + *-iðos (whence Latin -idus). More specifically, the term followed a development from *akriðos > *akṛðos > *akerðos > *akerβos > acerbus.

Descendants
  • Catalanacerb
  • Englishacerb
  • Englishacerbic
  • Frenchacerbe
  • Italianacerbo
  • Portugueseacerbo
  • Romanianacerb
  • Sardinianacherbu
  • Sardinianacerbu
  • Sardinianchervu

Quick answers

What does acerbus mean in Latin?
acerbus, a adjective, means “harsh, bitter, unripe, sour, premature, not yet marriageable; sharp, severe, bitter (i.e., extremely painful); rough, violent, severe, grievous, bitter”.
How do you pronounce acerbus?
In classical Latin, [aˈkɛr.bʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [aˈt͡ʃɛr.bus].