LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

ā̆stūtia

ā̆stūtia f (genitive ā̆stūtiae)
Classical[aːsˈtuː.ti.a]Ecclesiastical[asˈtut.t͡si.a]

Meaning

  1. cunning, craftiness, cleverness, shrewdness (adeptness at using tricks)
    [...] nunc opus est tuā / mihi ad hanc rem exprōmptā memoriā atque astūtiā.Now all I need is your wits and cunning applied to this scheme.166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 722–723
  2. subtlety
    Ut dētur parvulīs āstūtiā, adolēscentī scientiā et intellēctus.To give subtilty to little ones, to the young man knowledge and understanding. (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.; 1752 CE)c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.1.4
  3. a cunning trick, stratagem

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeā̆stūtia
adstutia		ā̆stūtiae
adstutiae
genitiveā̆stūtiae
adstutiae		ā̆stūtiārum
adstutiārum
dativeā̆stūtiae
adstutiae		ā̆stūtiīs
adstutiīs
accusativeā̆stūtiam
adstutiam		ā̆stūtiās
adstutiās
ablativeā̆stūtiā
adstutiā		ā̆stūtiīs
adstutiīs
vocativeā̆stūtia
adstutia		ā̆stūtiae
adstutiae

astūtĭa, ae, f. astutus,
I. the quality of being astutus, orig. (like acumen, dolus, etc.) dexterity, adroitness, and also (eccl. Lat.) understanding, wisdom: Quibus (feris) abest ad praecavendum intellegendi astutia, Pac. ap. Cic. Fin. 5, 11, 31 (Trag. Rel. p. 122 Rib.): ut detur parvulis astutia, Vulg. Prov. 1, 4: intellegite, parvuli, astutiam, ib. ib. 8, 5.—But very early used in a bad sense, cunning, slyness, subtlety, craft as a habit (most freq. in ante-class. and Ciceron. Lat.; afterwards supplanted by astus, q. v.): est nobis spes in hac astutiā, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 53: nec copiast [Me expediundi], nisi si astutiam aliquam corde machinor, id. ib. 3, 3, 15 Fleck.; 3, 4, 7; id. Ep. 3, 2, 27; id. Mil. 2, 2, 82: nunc opus est tuā Mihi ad hanc rem expromptā malitiā atque astutiā, Ter. And. 4, 3, 8; id. Heaut. 4, 3, 32: quod si aut confidens astutia aut callida esset audacia, vix ullo obsisti modo posset, Cic. Clu. 65, 183: quae tamen non astutiā quādam, sed aliquā potius sapientiā secutus sum, id. Fam. 3, 10, 9: qui (Deus) adprehendit sapientes in astutiā eorum, Vulg. Job, 5, 13; ib. 1 Cor. 3, 19; ib. Ephes. 4, 14.—Also plur.: in regionem astutiarum mearum te induco, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 78; so id. Ep. 3, 2, 39: Hem astutias, Ter. And. 3, 4, 25 Don.: aliter leges, aliter philosophi tollunt astutias, Cic. Off. 3, 17, 68; 3, 17, 61.

Origins

From ā̆stūtus (“cunning, full of tricks”) + -ia. First attested in Plautus and as aastvtieis in 3d to 2nd century BCE Falerii, with what appears to be a practice of marking long vowels also observed in a nearby inscription.

Descendants
  • Catalanastúcia
  • Frenchastuce
  • Italianastuzia
  • Portugueseastúcia
  • Spanishastucia
  • Galicianastucia
  • Sicilianstùzzia

Quick answers

What does ā̆stūtia mean in Latin?
ā̆stūtia, a noun, means “cunning, craftiness, cleverness, shrewdness (adeptness at using tricks); subtlety; a cunning trick, stratagem”.
What is the genitive of ā̆stūtia?
The genitive singular is ā̆stūtiae. ā̆stūtia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce ā̆stūtia?
In classical Latin, [aːsˈtuː.ti.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [asˈtut.t͡si.a].