adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
amārus
amārus (feminine amāra, neuter amārum, comparative amārior, superlative amārissimus, adverb amārē or amāriter)
Classical[aˈmaː.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[aˈmaː.rus]
Meaning
- adjectivebitter (taste)
- adjectiveharsh, shrill (sound)
- adjectivesarcastic (speech)
- adjectivesour, morose (conduct or behavior)
- adjectivedire, woeful, terrible
From the responsory Libera me
That day, day of wrath, of calamity and of misery, that great and exceedingly terrible day.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
contrārium dulcisamārus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 4
bitter
amārus -a -um — in De Bello Gallico III
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
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | amārus | amāra | amārum |
| genitive | amārī | amārae | amārī |
| dative | amārō | amārae | amārō |
| accusative | amārum | amāram | amārum |
| ablative | amārō | amārā | amārō |
| vocative | amāre | amāra | amārum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | amārī | amārae | amāra |
| genitive | amārōrum | amārārum | amārōrum |
| dative | amārīs | amārīs | amārīs |
| accusative | amārōs | amārās | amāra |
| ablative | amārīs | amārīs | amārīs |
| vocative | amārī | amārae | amāra |
ămārus, a, um, adj. cf. ὠμός; Sanscr. āmas = raw, amlas = sour; Germ. Ampfer = sorrel, Curtius; cf. Heb. , mar = bitter,
I. bitter (syn. acerbus).
I. Lit., of taste (opp. dulcis):
absinthi latex, Lucr. 1, 941; 4, 15: amara atque aspera, id. 2, 404: sensus judicat dulce, amarum, Cic. Fin. 2, 12; so id. N. D. 3, 13: salices, pungent, Verg. E. 1, 79: Doris amara, brackish, i. e. the sea, id. ib. 10, 5: os, bitter taste in the mouth, Cels. 1, 3: calices amariores, i. e. harsh wine, Cat. 27, 2: aquae amarissimae, Vulg. Num. 5, 18.—B. Transf.
1. Of the hearing, rough, sharp, shrill (cf. acer):
sonitus, Stat. Th. 10, 553, and, 2. Of smell, disagreeable, offensive:
fructus amarus odore, Plin. 18, 12, 30, § 122.—II. Trop.
A. Calamitous, unpleasant, sad (mostly poet.):
amara dies et nectis amarior umbra, Tib. 2, 4, 11: casus, Ov. Tr. 5, 4, 15; so, amara mors, Vulg. 1 Reg. 15, 32: amores dulces aut amari, Verg. E. 3, 110: amarissimae leges necessitatis, Val. Max. 7, 6: amaritudo mea amarissima, Vulg. Isa. 38, 17.—Subst. plur., bitterness, bitter things: et amara laeto Temperet risu, Hor. C. 2, 16, 26: amara curarum, id. ib. 4, 12, 19.—B. Of speech, bitter, biting, acrimonious, sarcastic, caustic, severe:
dictis amaris, Ov. Tr. 3, 11, 31; so, scriptis, id. P. 4, 14, 37: hostis, Verg. A. 10, 900: sales, Quint. 10, 1, 117.—C. Of conduct, morose, ill - natured, sour, irritable: mulieres, * Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 88:
amariorem me senectus facit, Cic. Att. 14, 21.—Adv., bitterly, in three forms: a. ămārē, Plaut. Truc. 1, 2, 78; Sen. Ben. 5, 23; Vulg. Isa. 22, 4; ib. Matt. 26, 75.—Comp., Macr. Somn. Scip. 2, 1.—Sup., Suet. Tib. 54.—*
b. ămā-rĭter, Hier. Ep. 23.—
c. ămārum, App. M. 6, p. 178, 26; Amm. 21, 9 fin.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
amārus adj.
with comp, bitter, pungent: salices, V.: calices amariores, Ct.: Doris, i. e. the brackish sea, V.—Fig., bitter, afflicting, sad: casūs, O.: amores dulces, V.—Plur n. as subst, bitternesses, bitter things: amara Temperat risu, H.: curarum, H. — Bitter, caustic, severe: dicta, O.— Relentless: hostis, V.—Morose, ill-natured: mulieres, T.: amariorem me senectus facit.
Origins
From Proto-Indo-European *h₃em-, *h₂eh₃m- (“bitter, raw”). Cognate with Sanskrit आम (āmá, “raw, immature”), Ancient Greek ὠμός (ōmós, “raw, crude”).
Ibero-Romance
- Portugueseamargofrom Old Galician-Portuguese amaro
- Spanishamargofrom Old Spanish amaro
- Galicianamargofrom Old Galician-Portuguese amaro
Balkan Romance
- Romanianamar
- Aromanianamar
- Megleno-Romanianmăros
Italo-Romance
- Italianamaro
- Corsicanamaru
- Dalmatianamur
- Sicilianamaru
Gallo-Romance
- Frenchamerfrom Old French amer
- Franco-Provençalamâr
- Normanaméfrom Old French amer
Occitano-Romance
- Occitanamar
- Old Catalanamar
North Italian
- Emilianamar
- Emilianamèr
- Friulianamâr
- Lombardamar
- Lombardmar
- Lombardmèr
- Piedmonteseamèr
- Piedmontesemèr
- Piedmontesemar
- Piedmontesemàjar
Borrowings
- Byzantine Greek*ἀμαρούλιον
- Byzantine Greekμαρούλιον