LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

asinus1

asinus m (genitive asinī)
Classical[ˈa.sɪ.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.s̬i.nus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinedonkey, ass
  2. derogatoryfigurativelyhumorousmasculineass, cretin, idiot, dolt, blockhead, donkey (a slow-witted, inept person)
    Neque egō hominēs magis asinōs umquam vīdī[…]quōs quom feriās, tibi plūs noceās.I've never seen human beings who were more like asses […] When you hit them, you hurt yourself more.c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus, act 1, scene 2:
    Quid tū autem huic, asine, auscultās?And why are you listening to him, you dolt?160 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Adelphoe

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

equō similis sed minor; onera tardē sed fortiter portat.
asinus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Animālia
animal tardum, quod onera portat et aurēs longās habet
asinus -ī (m) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 22

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeasinusasinī
genitiveasinīasinōrum
dativeasinōasinīs
accusativeasinumasinōs
ablativeasinōasinīs
vocativeasineasinī

ăsĭnus, i, m. acc. to Benfey, I. p. 123, and Hehn foll. by Curtius, an oriental word, perh. the Heb. , asina; cf. Goth. asilus; Lith. asilas; Erse, assul; Celt. asen or assen; Engl. ass; and Gr. ὄνος, which latter two forms the Lat. seems to have in combination,
I. an ass.
I. Lit., Cato, R. R. 10, 1; 11, 1; Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 14; 2, 6, 1 al.; Col. 6, 37, 8; 6, 7, 1 al.; Plin. 8, 43, 68, § 167 sqq. et saep.; Vulg. Gen. 12, 6; ib. Isa. 1, 3; ib. Luc. 13, 15; 14, 5 et persaepe.—Prov.: qui asinum non potest, stratum caedit, i. e. he, that cannot find the offender, avenges himself on the unoffending, Petr. 45, 8: in tegulis, of an odd appearance, id. 45, 63: ad lyram, of an awkward man, acc. to Varr. ap. Gell. 3, 16: sepulturā asini sepelietur, of a contemptible and unworthy man, Vulg. Jer. 22, 19.—
II. Trop., an ass, a dolt, simpleton, blockhead: neque ego homines magis asinos umquam vidi, Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 4; Ter. Heaut. 5, 1, 4. —Hence, as a term of insult: Quid tu autem huic, asine, auscultas? Ter. Ad. 5, 8, 12; id. Eun. 3, 5, 50: Quid nunc te, asine, litteras doceam? Non opus est verbis, sed fustibus, Cic. Pis. 30.

Origins

Unknown; perhaps borrowed from a substrate language in Asia Minor. Compare Luwian [script needed] (tarkasna) and Sumerian 𒀲 (anše). The lack of rhotacism of the intervocalic /s/ (which would have yielded the form *arinus) suggests that the word must have been borrowed after the 4th century BCE, when this phonetic shift became unproductive.

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanase
  • Occitanasnefrom Old Occitan asne
  • Occitanasefrom Old Occitan asne
  • Franco-Provençalânofrom Franco-Provençal asno
  • Old Frenchasne
  • Gasconasofrom Old Occitan asne
  • Gasconainefrom Old Occitan asne
  • Limousinasnefrom Old Occitan asne
  • Provençalaifrom Old Occitan asne
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianasân
  • Romanianasin
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseasnofrom Old Galician-Portuguese asno
  • Spanishasnofrom Old Spanish asno
  • Galicianasnofrom Old Galician-Portuguese asno
  • Cebuanoasnofrom Old Spanish asno
  • Classical Nahuatlaxnohfrom Old Spanish asno
  • Tagalogasnofrom Old Spanish asno
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianàinu
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianasino
  • Corsicanasinu
  • Sicilianàsinu
  • Venetanaxèno
Elsewhere
  • Englishassfrom Old English assen
  • Esperantoazeno
  • Bretonazenfrom Proto-Brythonic *ėsɨn
  • Cornishasenfrom Proto-Brythonic *ėsɨn
  • Welshasynfrom Proto-Brythonic *ėsɨn
  • Welshasenfrom Proto-Brythonic *ėsɨn
  • Scotsassfrom Old English assen
  • Yolaessfrom Old English assen
  • Middle Irishasanfrom Old Irish asan
  • Middle Irishassanfrom Old Irish asan
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Romanshasen
  • Romanshasan
  • Romanshesan
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianèṡen
  • Emilianesen
  • Emilianaz
  • Emilianase
  • Emilianaso
  • Ligurianâze
  • Lombardasen
  • Lombardasne
  • Piedmonteseaso
  • Piedmonteseasi
Proto-Berber
  • Tashelhitasnus
  • Central Atlas Tamazightⴰⵙⵏⵓⵙ
  • Tarifitasnus
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
asinus2
asinus (feminine asina, neuter asinum)
Classical[ˈa.sɪ.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.s̬i.nus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectiverelationalass, donkey
  2. adjectivestupid, asinine

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeasinusasinaasinum
genitiveasinīasinaeasinī
dativeasinōasinaeasinō
accusativeasinumasinamasinum
ablativeasinōasināasinō
vocativeasineasinaasinum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeasinīasinaeasina
genitiveasinōrumasinārumasinōrum
dativeasinīsasinīsasinīs
accusativeasinōsasināsasina
ablativeasinīsasinīsasinīs
vocativeasinīasinaeasina

Origins

Unknown; perhaps borrowed from a substrate language in Asia Minor. Compare Luwian [script needed] (tarkasna) and Sumerian 𒀲 (anše). The lack of rhotacism of the intervocalic /s/ (which would have yielded the form *arinus) suggests that the word must have been borrowed after the 4th century BCE, when this phonetic shift became unproductive.

Quick answers

What does asinus mean in Latin?
asinus, a noun, means “donkey, ass; ass, cretin, idiot, dolt, blockhead, donkey (a slow-witted, inept person)”.
What is the genitive of asinus?
The genitive singular is asinī. asinus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce asinus?
In classical Latin, [ˈa.sɪ.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈaː.s̬i.nus].