verbthird conjugation
alō
alō (present infinitive alere, perfect active aluī, supine altum or alitum)
Classical[ˈa.ɫoː]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.lo]
№ 817 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- to feed, to nourish, to nurture
- to cultivate, to raise, to rear, etc. (as a child, an animal, etc.)
Hominum grātiā generātur, aluntur bēstiae.
It is for the sake of man that beasts are bred.Fastīdientis stomachī est multa dēgustāre; quae ubi varia sunt et dīversa, inquinant nōn alunt.
It is [the sign] of an overly delicate stomach [merely] to taste many [foods]; for when these are varied and different, they pollute rather than nourish. (Seneca’s diet metaphor: the effect of superficially reading too many authors.)c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.2.4 - to cause (a thing) to continue over time: to further, to maintain, to sustain
Bellum sē ipsum alet.
The war will further itself.Attributed to Cato Maior by Livius in Ab Urbe Condita, Book XXXIV, 9.12 - to encourage or promote the development (of a thing): to foster, to further, to promote (something)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
cibum dō, ut crēscat; māter īnfantem alit.alō -ere — in Mille Verba, Cibus et Convīvium
cibum dō, nūtriōalō -ere — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 4
cibum dō, sustineōnourish, feed
alō -ere — in De Bello Gallico I, ch. 12 and De Bello Gallico II, ch. 13
nourish, feed
alō -ere, aluī — in De Bello Gallico III
nourishes
alit — in Seneca, ch. XX
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Volucres · Aves · Alites
Volucres (from ἑλίξαι) means whatever flies, including winged insects, like πτηνός; whereas aves and alites mean only birds; avis (ἀετός) as a general term in natural history for any bird, like ὄρνις; ales (from ala) as a select expression only for a larger bird, like οἰωνός, especially the eagle, and alites is used in the language of the augurs as a technical term for those birds whose flight must be observed and interpreted, in opp. to oscines, or those birds whose song and cry must be interpreted. Ovid, Art. Am. iii. 410. Jovis in multis devolat ales aves. Hor. Od. iv. 2, 2. 4. Virg. Æn. xii. 247. Cic. N. D. ii. 64. (v. 207.)
Alere · Nutrire · Nutricare
Alere (from ἄλθω) denotes nourishment, as conducive to development and growth; nutrire and nutricare, only as it prolongs and secures existence. Or, alimenta adjuvant, nutrimenta sustentant. Cic. N. D. ii. 63. Neque ali neque sustentari. Nutrire involves a general notion; nutricare is usually applied more particularly to brutes. (ii. 99.)
Conjugation conjugation 3
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | alō | alēbam | alam | aluī | alueram | aluerō |
| 2nd sg. | alis | alēbās | alēs | aluistī | aluerās | alueris |
| 3rd sg. | alit | alēbat | alet | aluit | aluerat | aluerit |
| 1st pl. | alimus | alēbāmus | alēmus | aluimus | aluerāmus | aluerimus |
| 2nd pl. | alitis | alēbātis | alētis | aluistis | aluerātis | alueritis |
| 3rd pl. | alunt | alēbant | alent | aluērunt aluēre | aluerant | aluerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | alam | alerem | aluerim | aluissem |
| 2nd sg. | alās | alerēs | aluerīs | aluissēs |
| 3rd sg. | alat | aleret | aluerit | aluisset |
| 1st pl. | alāmus | alerēmus | aluerīmus | aluissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | alātis | alerētis | aluerītis | aluissētis |
| 3rd pl. | alant | alerent | aluerint | aluissent |
passive indicative
| form | present | imperfect | future |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | alor | alēbar | alar |
| 2nd sg. | aleris alere | alēbāris alēbāre | alēris alēre |
| 3rd sg. | alitur | alēbātur | alētur |
| 1st pl. | alimur | alēbāmur | alēmur |
| 2nd pl. | aliminī | alēbāminī | alēminī |
| 3rd pl. | aluntur | alēbantur | alentur |
passive subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect |
|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | alar | alerer |
| 2nd sg. | alāris alāre | alerēris alerēre |
| 3rd sg. | alātur | alerētur |
| 1st pl. | alāmur | alerēmur |
| 2nd pl. | alāminī | alerēminī |
| 3rd pl. | alantur | alerentur |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | ale | alere |
| pres. 2nd pl. | alite | aliminī |
| fut. 2nd sg. | alitō | alitor |
| fut. 3rd sg. | alitō | alitor |
| fut. 2nd pl. | alitōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | aluntō | aluntor |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | alere | alī |
| perfect infinitive | aluisse | altum esse alitum esse |
| future infinitive | altūrum esse alitūrum esse | altum īrī alitum īrī |
| present participle | alēns alente, alentem, alentēs, alentī, alentia, alentibus, alentis, alentīs, alentium | — |
| perfect participle | — | altus alitus, alita, alitā, alitae, alitam, alitārum, alitās, alitī, alitōrum, alitōs |
| future participle | altūrus alitūrus, alitūra, alitūrā, alitūrae, alitūram, alitūrārum, alitūrās, alitūre, alitūrī, alitūrīs, alitūrō, alitūrōrum, alitūrōs, alitūrum, altūra, altūrā, altūrae, altūram, altūrārum, altūrās, altūre, altūrī, altūrīs, altūrō, altūrōrum, altūrōs, altūrum | alendus alundus |
gerundalendī, alendō, alendumsupinealtum, altū
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- spem alere
- to entertain a hope.
- ignem alere
- to keep up a fire.
- alere equos, canes
- to keep horses, dogs.
- alere exercitum (Off. 1. 8. 25)
- to support an army.
ălo, ălŭi, altum, and ălĭtum, 3, v. a. (the ante-class. and class. form of the
I. part. perf. from Plautus until after Livy is altus (in Cic. four times); alitus seems to have been first used in the post-Aug. per. to distinguish it from altus, the adj. Altus is found in Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 36; Varr. ap. Non. 237, 15; Cic. Planc. 33, 81; id. Brut. 10, 39; id. N. D. 2, 46, 118; id. Fam. 6, 1; Sall. J. 63, 3;
on the contrary, alitus, Liv. 30, 28; Curt. 8, 10, 8; Val. Max. 3, 4, 4; 5, 4, 7; 7, 4, 1; 9, 3, 8; Sen. Contr. 3, praef. 10; Just. 44, 4, 12; Dig. 27, 3, 1; cf. Prisc. 897; Diom. 371; Charis. 220 P.; Wund. ad Cic. Planc. p. 201) [cf.: ἄν-αλτος = insatiable, ἄλσος = growth (of wood), 1. ad-oleo, ad-olesco, elementum; Goth. alan = to bring up; Germ. alt = old; Engl. old, eld, elder, and alderman], to feed, to nourish, support, sustain, maintain (in gen. without designating the means, while nutrire denotes sustenance by animal food; cf. Herz. ad Caes. B. G. 1, 18; 7, 32; Doed. Syn. II. p. 99). I. Lit.:
quem ego nefrendem alui, Liv. And. ap. Fest. s. v. nefrendes, p. 163 Müll. (Trag. Rel. p. 5 Rib.): Athenis natus altusque, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 36: alebat eos, Vulg. Gen. 47, 12: esurientes alebat, ib. Tob. 1, 20.—With natus, educatus, or a similar word, several times: Alui, educavi, Att. ap. Non. 422, 14 (Trag. Rel. p. 150 Rib.): cum Hannibale alto atque educato inter arma, Liv. 30, 28 (cf. II. infra): aut equos Alere aut canes ad venandum, Ter. And. 1, 1, 30; id. Hec. 4, 4, 49: alere nolunt hominem edacem, id. Phorm. 2, 2, 21: quoniam cibus auget corpus alitque, Lucr. 1, 859; 5, 221 al.: quae etiam aleret adulescentes, Cic. Cael. 38: milites, Cic. Verr. 5, 80: nautas, id. ib. 5, 87: exercitum, id. Deiot. 24: magnum numerum equitatus, Caes. B. G. 1, 18: cum agellus eum non satis aleret, Cic. N. D. 1, 26, 72; so Nep. Phoc. 1, 4: locus ille, ubi altus aut doctus est, Cic. Planc. 33, 81: quibus animantes aluntur, id. N. D. 2, 19: (animus) aletur et sustentabitur isdem rebus, quibus astra sustentantur et aluntur, id. Tusc. 1, 19, 43 al.: latrociniis se suosque alebat, Caes. B. G. 8, 47; 1, 18: quos manus aut lingua perjurio aut sanguine civili alebat, Sall. C. 14, 3; cf. Kritz ad Sall. C. 37, 3; Nep. Arist. 3 fin.: ut nepotem elephantos alere prohiberet, Cic. Phil. 9, 4: canes, id. Sex. Rosc. 56: quod alerentur regiones eorum ab illo, Vulg. Act. 12, 20: velut amnis imbres Quem super notas aluere ripas, have swollen, Hor. C. 4, 2, 5: rhombos aequora alebant, id. S. 2, 2, 48 al.; Ov. M. 9, 339; 3, 411; and in a paradoxical phrase: infelix minuendo corpus alebat, and sustained his body by consuming it, i. e. nourished himself by his own flesh, id. ib. 8, 878 al.—Hence in pass. with the abl. = vesci, to be nourished or sustained with or by something, to live or feed upon: panico vetere atque hordeo corrupto omnes alebantur, Caes. B. C. 2, 22: quia viperinis carnibus alantur, Plin. 7, 2, 2, § 27: locustis eos ali, etc., id. 7, 2, 2, § 29: hoc cibo aliti sunt, Vulg. Exod. 16, 35.—II. Fig., to nourish, cherish, promote, increase, strengthen:
honos alit artes, Cic. Tusc. 1, 2, 4: in eā ipsā urbe, in quā et nata et alta sit eloquentia, id. Brut. 10, 39: hominis mens alitur discendo et cogitando, id. Off. 1, 30: haec studia adulescentiam alunt, id. Arch. 7, 16; cf. Ochsn. Eclog. 134 al.: civitas, quam ipse semper aluisset, i. e. whose prosperity he had always promoted, Caes. B. G. 7, 33: vires, id. ib. 4, 1: nolo meis impensis illorum ali augerique luxuriam, Nep. Phoc. 1 fin.: alere morbum, id. Att. 21 fin.: insita hominibus libido alendi de industriā rumores, Liv. 28, 24: regina Vulnus alit venis, Verg. A. 4, 2: divitiis alitur luxuriosus amor, Ov. R. Am. 746: alitur diutius controversia, Caes. B. G. 7, 32: quid alat formetque poëtam, Hor. A. P. 307 al.—Hence, altus, a, um.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
alō aluī, altus or alitus, ere
1 AL-, to feed, nourish, support, sustain, maintain: altus inter arma, L.: canes ad venandum, T.: exercitum: magnum numerum equitatūs, Cs.: quos lingua periurio alebat, S.: publice ali, at the public cost, N.: amnis imbres Quem super notas aluere ripas, have filled, H.: infelix minuendo corpus alebat, i. e. nourished himself by his own flesh, O.: panico vetere ali, Cs.: ignem, Cu.: flammas, O.: staturam, Cs. — Fig., to nourish, cherish, promote, increase, strengthen: honos alit artes: in quā alta sit eloquentia: civitatem, i. e. cause to prosper, Cs.: nolo meis impensis illorum ali luxuriam, N.: Volnus venis, V.: si diutius alatur controversia, Cs.: poëtam, H.: spem sententiis: ingenium: bellum.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *alō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂életi (“grow, nourish”). Related to *oleō.
In English words that came into English from alō
- alimonyalimōnia
- altricialAltrices
- alimentalimentum
- aliblealibilis
- altricesaltrīcēs