LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

asperitās

asperitās f (genitive asperitātis)
Classical[asˈpɛ.rɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[asˈpɛː.ri.tas]

Meaning

  1. unevenness, roughness
  2. harshness, sharpness, acidity, tartness
    dēnsāque cēdit frīgoris asperitās and [in April] the oppressive harshness of the cold gives way (In this context ‘‘asperitās’’ may be understood with several of the different meanings listed here.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.87–88
  3. severity, fierceness, asperity

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeasperitāsasperitātēs
genitiveasperitātisasperitātum
dativeasperitātīasperitātibus
accusativeasperitātemasperitātēs
ablativeasperitāteasperitātibus
vocativeasperitāsasperitātēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

caeli asperitas
rough climate.

aspĕrĭtas, ātis, f. asper,
I. the quality of asper, unevenness, roughness (opp. 2. levitas).
I. Lit.: saxorum asperitates, Cic. N. D. 2, 39, 98: asperitas viarum, id. Phil. 9, 1, 2: locorum, Sall. J. 75, 2: angustiae locorumque asperitas, Liv. 32, 12 fin.; 43, 21; 44, 5 al.: linguae, Plin. 11, 37, 65, § 172: ventris, id. 11, 37, 79, § 201: squamarum, Gell. 2, 6: faucium, Plin. 30, 4, 11, § 32: animi asperitas seu potius animae, hoarseness, id. 22, 24, 51, § 111: ob asperitatem hiemis, roughness, severity, Tac. A. 4, 56: asperitas frigorum abest, id. Agr. 12: densaque cedit Frigoris asperitas, Ov. F. 4, 88 al.: asperitas luti, dryness, barrenness of the clay, Vitr. 2, 3.—Of raised work (cf. 1. asper, I., and exaspero): vasa anaglypta in asperitatemque excisa, with figures in basrelief, Plin. 33, 11, 49, § 139.—
B. Transf.
1. Of taste, harshness, sharpness, acidity, tartness: vini, Plin. 14, 19, 24, § 120: pomi, id. 12, 10, 21, § 38: aceti, id. 9, 35, 58, § 120: aquarum, the brackish taste of water, id. 12, 9, 20, § 37 al.—
2. Of hearing, roughness, harshness of tone: vocis, Lucr. 4, 542: soni, Tac. G. 3.—
3. Of sight, inequality, contrast: cum aspectus ejus scaenae propter asperitatem eblandiretur omnium visus, on account of the contrast of light and shade, Vitr. 7, 5: intercolumniorum, id. 3, 3.—
II. Trop.
A. Of moral qualities, roughness, harshness, severity, fierceness, asperity: si quis eā asperitate est et immanitate naturae, congressus ut hominum fugiat atque oderit, etc., Cic. Lael. 23, 87: avunculi, Nep. Att. 5, 1: patris, Ov. M. 9, 752: artibus ingenuis Pectora mollescunt, asperitasque fugit, id. P. 1, 6, 8: asperitatis et invidiae corrector, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 129.—Of a rigid, austere manner of life: quam illorum (Stoicorum) tristitiam atque asperitatem fugiens Panaetius nec acerbitatem sententiarum nec disserendi spinas probavit, Cic. Fin. 4, 28, 79; cf. 1. asper, II. A.—And of rudeness in external appearance, opp. to a polished, cultivated bearing: asperitas agrestis, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 6.—
B. Of things, adversity, reverse of fortune, trouble, severity, difficulty (cf. 1. asper, II. B., and acerbitas): in his vel asperitatibus rerum vel angustiis temporis obsequar studiis nostris, Cic. de Or. 1, 1, 3: asperitas belli, Sall. J. 29, 1: remedii, Tac. A. 1, 44.—Of style, roughness, harshness, τραχύτης (cf. 1. asper, II. B.): oratio in quā asperitas contentionis oratoris ipsius humanitate conditur, Cic. de Or. 2, 53, 212. judicialis asperitas, id. ib. 2, 15, 64; so Quint. 1, 8, 11; 10, 5, 14 (cf. id. 11, 3, 23): verborum, Ov. M. 14, 526.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂esp-der.?
  2. Latinasperitās

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin asperitās From asper + -tās.

Descendants
  • Catalanasperitat
  • Catalanaspredat
  • Englishasperitas
  • Frenchaspérité
  • Italianasperità
  • Occitanasperitat
  • Portugueseasperidade
  • Romanianasperitate
  • Spanishasperidad
  • Galicianasperidade

Quick answers

What does asperitās mean in Latin?
asperitās, a noun, means “unevenness, roughness; harshness, sharpness, acidity, tartness; severity, fierceness, asperity”.
What is the genitive of asperitās?
The genitive singular is asperitātis. asperitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce asperitās?
In classical Latin, [asˈpɛ.rɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [asˈpɛː.ri.tas].
Where does asperitās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂esp-der.? → Latin asperitās.