LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

aerumna

aerumna f (genitive aerumnae)

Meaning

  1. feminineneed, want
  2. femininetrouble, toil, hardship
  3. femininedistress, tribulation, calamity

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Labor · Molestia · Ærumna

1. Labor is the toil which requires strength and causes weariness, like πόνος; molestia (from μόλις, μαλερός) the trouble which, by its greatness or unseasonableness, dispirits, like χαλεπότης; ærumna (αἰρομένη) the hardship that almost exceeds human strength, and bows down even the hero, like ταλαιπωρία; an antiquated, half-poetical expression, in Cic. Fin. ii. 35, and Quintil. viii. 3, 26. Cic. Fin. v. 32. Ut ubi virtus sit resque magnæ et summe laudabiles virtute res gestæ, ibi esse miseria et ærumna non possit, tamen labor possit, possit molestia. (iv. 422.) 2. Laborare denotes, as an intransitive verb, to be in a state of trouble and toil; but elaborare, as a transitive verb, to produce something by trouble and toil. (i. 116.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeaerumnaaerumnae
genitiveaerumnaeaerumnārum
dativeaerumnaeaerumnīs
accusativeaerumnamaerumnās
ablativeaerumnāaerumnīs
vocativeaerumnaaerumnae

aerumna, ae (pleb. er-), f. contr. from aegrimonia; as to the suppressed g, cf. jumentum from jugum, Doed. Syn. IV. p. 420. Others explain aerumna (with Paul. ex Fest. s. v. aerumnula, p. 24 Müll.) orig. for a frame for carrying burdens upon the back; hence trop.,
I. need, want, trouble, toil, hardship, distress, tribulation, calamity, etc. (objectively; while aegrimonia, like aegritudo, denotes, subjectively, the condition of mind, Doed. 1. c.; for the most part only ante-class., except in Cic., who uses it several times, in order to designate by one word the many modifications and shadings of the condition of mental suffering; in Quintilian's time the word was obsolete, v. Quint. 8, 3, 26): tibi sunt ante ferendae aerumnae, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 47 Vahl.); cf.: Ilia dia nepos, quas erumnas tetulisti, id. ap. Charis. p. 70 P. (Ann. v. 56 ib.): quantis cum aerumnis exantlavi diem, id. ap. Non. 292, 8 (Trag. v. 127 ib.): uno ut labore absolvat aerumnas duas (of the pains of parturition), Plaut. Am. 1, 2, 26: animus aequos optimum est aerumnae condimentum, id. Rud. 2, 3, 71; id. Ep. 2, 1, 10; so, id. Capt. 5, 4, 12; id. Curc. 1, 2, 54; id. Pers. 1, 1, 1: lapit cor cura, aerumna corpus conficit, Pac. ap. Non. 23, 8; Ter. Hec. 3, 1, 8; Lucr. 3, 50: aerumna gravescit, id. 4, 1065: quo pacto adversam aerumnam ferant, Ter. Phorm. 2, 1, 12: maeror est aegritudo flebilis: aerumna aegritudo laboriosa: dolor aegritudo crucians, Cic. Tusc. 4, 8, 18: Herculis aerumnas perpeti: sic enim majores nostri labores non fugiendos tristissimo tamen verbo aerumnas etiam in Deo nominaverunt, id. Fin. 2, 35; cf. id. ib. 5, 32, 95: mors est aerumnarum requies, Sall. C. 51, 20; so id. J. 13, 22: Luculli miles collecta viatica multis Aerumnis, ad assem Perdiderat, with much difficulty, * Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 26: multiplicabo aerumnas tuas, Vulg. Gen. 3, 16: in labore et aerumnā (fui), ib. 2 Cor. 11, 27.—
II. In later Lat. for defeat (of an army), Amm. 15, 4; cf. id. 15, 8 al.!*? At a later period, also, ĕrumna was written with short e, Paulin. Petric. Vit. D. Mart. 1, 66. Hence, Enn. ap. Charis. p. 76 P. derives it from eruere (quod mentem eruat). Cf. Doed. Syn. IV. p. 420.

Origins

Unknown. Two explanations have been proposed: as a loan from Greek αἰρομένη (airoménē), and as having been borrowed from an Etruscan source; De Vaan (2008) points out that connection with αἰρομένη (airoménē) – the feminine middle/passive participle of αἴρω (aírō), in turn the contracted form of ἀείρω (aeírō) – is problematic, as there is no example in Greek of the use of the feminine form of this participle as a noun meaning "burden"; and that an Etruscan etymology is impossible to prove.

Quick answers

What does aerumna mean in Latin?
aerumna, a noun, means “need, want; trouble, toil, hardship; distress, tribulation, calamity”.
What is the genitive of aerumna?
The genitive singular is aerumnae. aerumna is feminine, first declension.