LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

amita

amita f (genitive amitae)
Classical[ˈa.mɪ.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.mi.ta]

Meaning

  1. femininepaternal aunt; father's sister

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

soror patris
amita -ae (f) — in Epistulae, ch. 10

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeamitaamitae
genitiveamitaeamitārum
dativeamitaeamitīs
accusativeamitamamitās
ablativeamitāamitīs
vocativeamitaamitae

ămĭta, ae, f. cf. abba, avus, and Engl. aunt (so the mother's sister is called matertera, from mater; cf. Dig. 38, 10, 10),
I. a father's sister, a paternal aunt, Cic. Clu. 10; Liv. 39, 11; Tac. A. 12, 64; 27, 16; Vulg. Lev. 20, 19 et saep.—
II. Hence,
A. Amita magna, a sister of a grandfather (avi), a great-aunt, Tac. A. 2, 27; Paul. l. c.—
B. Amita major, an aunt of a grandfather, Paul. l. c. and Fest. s. v. Major, p. 98.—
C. Amita maxima, an aunt of a great-grandfather, also called abamita, Paul. l. c. and Fest. s. v. Major, p. 98.

Origins

Diminutive of Proto-Indo-European *amma, *ama (“mother”), a lost baby-word of the papa-type; compare amō (“to love”), Old High German amma (“wet nurse”).

Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchtantefrom Old French ante
  • Englishauntfrom Old French ante
  • Normantantefrom Old French ante
  • Normantàntefrom Old French ante
  • Scotsauntfrom Old French ante
  • Old Occitananda
Elsewhere
  • Romanianmătușăfrom Vulgar Latin *mita
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Dalmatianamia
  • Istriotàmia
  • Istriotgnagna
  • Cimbrianamadafrom Venetan àmia
  • Cimbriangnégnafrom Venetan àmia
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianagne
  • Friuliangnagne
  • Ladinanda
  • Ladinamdä
  • Romanshonda
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardàmeda
  • Lombardanda
  • Piedmontesemagna
  • Ligurianàmia
Borrowings
  • Albanianemtë

In English words that came into English from amita

  • auntamita

Quick answers

What does amita mean in Latin?
amita, a noun, means “paternal aunt; father's sister”.
What is the genitive of amita?
The genitive singular is amitae. amita is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce amita?
In classical Latin, [ˈa.mɪ.ta]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈaː.mi.ta].