LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

aquilō

aquilō m (genitive aquilōnis)

Meaning

  1. north wind, the wind god Boreas
    “Quīn etiam hībernō mōlīris sīdere classem, et mediīs properās aquilōnibus īre per altum, crūdēlis?” [...]. “What’s worse, you dare rig your fleet under wintry stars, and hasten to sail across the deep sea – amidst the north winds! [Isn’t this an act] of cruelty?” (Dido rebukes Aeneas.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.309–311
  2. the north
  3. New Latinkite

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeaquilōaquilōnēs
genitiveaquilōnisaquilōnum
dativeaquilōnīaquilōnibus
accusativeaquilōnemaquilōnēs
ablativeaquilōneaquilōnibus
vocativeaquilōaquilōnēs

ăquĭlo, ōnis, m. perh. from aqua, as bringing wet weather, or aquilus, dark, as bringing lowering and stormy weather.
I. A.. Lit., the north wind; Gr. Βορεας; plur., Cic. N. D. 2, 10, 26; Ov. M. 2, 132; 5, 285; 10, 77 al.; acc. to accurate nautical designation, north-one-third-east wind, between the septentrio and vulturnus, opp. to Auster Africanus or Libonotus, Sen. Q. N. 5, 16; Plin. 2, 47, 46, § 119 sq.: horrifer Aquilonis stridor gelidas molitur nives, Att. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 28, 68: cum ille vento Aquilone venisset Lemnum, Nep. Milt. 1, 5: Aquilo frigidus, Verg. G. 2, 404: densus, id. ib. 3, 196: stridens Aquilone procella, id. A. 1, 102: hiems aquilonibus asperat undas, id. ib. 3, 285: impotens, Hor. C. 3, 30, 3: clarus, Verg. G. 1, 460: Threïcius, Hor. Epod. 13, 3: ad aquilonem et ad austrum, Vulg. 1 Par. 9, 24; ib. Luc. 13, 29: ad aquilonem et meridiem, ib. Gen. 13, 14 et persaepe (in the Vulg. only in sing.).—Plur.: Africum Decertantem aquilonibus, Hor. C. 1, 3, 13: Neptunus classes aquilonibus arcet, id. A. P. 64 al. persaepe.—
B. Meton. for the north: spelunca conversa ad aquilonem, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 48.—
II. ăquĭlo, ōnis, m.; in mythology, the husband of Orithyia and father of Calais and Zetes, who dwelt in a cave of Hæmus, Cic. Leg. 1, 1, 3; Ov. M. 7, 3; Mel. 3, 5, 1; Val. Fl. 4, 432; Hyg. Fab. 14.

Origins

Perhaps from aquila (“eagle”) + -ō (name-forming suffix), personifying the cold north wind as a "fast, aggressive raptor".

Descendants
  • CatalanAquiló
  • EnglishAquilo
  • EnglishAquilon
  • FrenchAquilon
  • GermanAquilo
  • ItalianAquilone
  • Spanishaquilón
  • PolishAkwilon
  • RussianАквилон

Quick answers

What does aquilō mean in Latin?
aquilō, a noun, means “north wind, the wind god Boreas; the north; kite”.
What is the genitive of aquilō?
The genitive singular is aquilōnis. aquilō is masculine, third declension.