adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)
āter
āter (feminine ātra, neuter ātrum, comparative ātrior, superlative āterrimus)
Classical[ˈaː.tɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.ter]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivedull black (as opposed to niger, shining black); dark
- adjectivegloomy, sad, dismal, unlucky
- adjectivepoeticraremalevolent
- adjectivepoeticobscure
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
niger sine lūce; color noctis et mortis.āter ātra ātrum — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs
niger; trīstisāter, ātra, ātrum — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 5
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Ater · Niger · Pullus
1. Ater (αἰθός) denotes black, as a negation of color, in opp. to albus; whereas niger (πνιγόεις) denotes black, as being itself a color, and indeed the darkest, in opp. to candidus. The atrum makes only a dismal and dark impression; but the nigrum, a positive, and imposing and beautiful impression, as Hor. Carm. i. 32, 11. Lycum nigris oculis, nigroque crine decorum. Tac. G. 43. Nigra scuta, tincta corpora; atras ad prœlia noctes legunt. (iii. 194.) 2. Ater and niger denote a deep dark black; whereas pullus only swarthy, with reference to the affinity of the dark color to dirt. (iii. 207.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | in -er āter | ātra | ātrum |
| genitive | ātrī | ātrae | ātrī |
| dative | ātrō | ātrae | ātrō |
| accusative | ātrum | ātram | ātrum |
| ablative | ātrō | ātrā | ātrō |
| vocative | āter | ātra | ātrum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | ātrī | ātrae | ātra |
| genitive | ātrōrum | ātrārum | ātrōrum |
| dative | ātrīs | ātrīs | ātrīs |
| accusative | ātrōs | ātrās | ātra |
| ablative | ātrīs | ātrīs | ātrīs |
| vocative | ātrī | ātrae | ātra |
āter, tra, trum, adj. cf. αἴθω, to burn; Sanscr. idh; αἴθων αἰθήρ, Αἴτνη, Aetna, aether, aestus, aestas (pr. burnt black, black as a coal; cf.:
I.
Tam excoctam reddam atque atram quam carbost, Ter. Ad. 5, 3, 63: hence), black; and specif., coalblack, lustreless-black, sable, dark (opp. albus, lustreless-white, and diff. from niger, glossy black, v. albus init.; class. and freq., but never in Vulg., which uses niger). I. Lit.:
album an atrum vinum potas? Plaut. Men. 5, 5, 17: atrior multo Quam Aegyptii, id. Poen. 5, 5, 11: alba et atra discernere non poterat, Cic. Tusc. 5, 39, 114: nigra scuta, tincta corpora; atras ad proelia noctes legunt, Tac. G. 43: Mos erat antiquus niveis atrisque capillis, etc., Ov. M. 15, 41; so id. ib. 15, 44; cf. albus: fauces, Lucr. 6, 1147: dens, Hor. Epod. 8, 3: nubes, Lucr. 6, 180; Hor. C. 2, 16, 2: lumen, with smoke, Verg. A. 7, 457: agmen, with dust, id. ib. 12, 450 Serv.: axis, with blood, Sil. 2, 186: Eridanus ater stragibus, id. 6, 107: bilis, Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 64, and Cic. Tusc. 3, 5, 11 (cf. the Gr. μελαγχολία): cruor, Hor. Epod. 17, 31: tempestas, Lucr. 6, 258 sq.; Verg. A. 5, 693: hiemps, id. ib. 7, 214: canis, Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 25: corvus atro gutture, Cat. 108, 5: venena, Verg. G. 2, 130: Tartara, Lucr. 3, 966; so, Cocytus, Hor. C. 2, 14, 17: mare, dark, stormy, id. S. 2, 2, 16: fluctus, Verg. A. 5, 2: mons, v. 2. ater.— The proverb albus an ater, v. albus.—Poet., = atratus, clothed in black: lictores, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 6; cf. albus, I. B. 2.—II. Trop.
A. In gen., black, dark, gloomy, sad, dismal, unfortunate, etc.:
funus, Lucr. 2, 580: formido, id. 4 [173], and id. 6, 254; so, Timor, Verg. A. 9, 719: cupressus, id. ib. 3, 64: dies, id. ib. 6, 429; Prop. 3, 2, 4: mors, Hor. C. 1, 28, 13: fila trium sororum, id. ib. 2, 3, 16: Esquiliae (as a burying-place), dismal, id. S. 2, 6, 32: seu mors atris circumvolat alis, id. ib. 2, 1, 58: cura, id. C. 3, 1, 40; 3, 14, 13; 4, 11, 35: lites, id. A. P. 423: comes, id. S. 2, 7, 115: serpens, Verg. G. 1, 129; Ov. M. 3, 63 al.: genius .. vultu mutabilis, albus et ater, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 189.—In Roman civil life, dies atri are the days on which the state experienced some calamity, unlucky days. (This designation is said to have arisen from the Roman custom of marking every unfortunate day in the calendar with coal); Varr. L. L. 6, § 29; Liv. 6, 1; Gell. 5, 17; Fest. s. v. nonarum, p. 179 Müll.; id. s. v. religiosus, p. 278 Müll.; Ov. A. A. 1, 418; Macr. S. 1, 15 fin. and 16; Afran. ap. Non. p. 73, 33: si atro die faxit insciens, probe factum esto, Liv. 22, 10.—B. Esp.
1. Rare and poet., of mind or feeling, malevolent, malicious, virulent (cf. niger, II. D., and the Gr. μέλας, II. 4 Lidd. and Scott):
versus, Hor. Ep. 1, 19, 30: si quis atro dente me petiverit, id. Epod. 6, 15.—2. Also poet. of something difficult to be understood, dark, obscure (so μέλας, Anth. Pal. 11, 347):
latebrae Lycophronis atri, Stat. p. 5, 3, 157.—Comp. v. supra, I.—Sup. and adv. not used.Āter mons,
I. a mountain in the interior of Africa, north of Phazania (Fezzan), Plin. 5, 5, 5, § 35.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
āter tra, trum, adj.
AID-, black, coal-black, gloomy, dark (cf. niger, glossy-black): panis, T.: carbo, T.: alba et atra discernere: noctes, Ta.: tempestas, V.: mare, gloomy, H.: lictores, clothed in black, H.: corvus atro gutture, Ct. — Fig., black, dark, gloomy, sad, dismal, unfortunate: timor, V.: mors, H.: fila trium sororum, H.: alae (mortis), H.: serpens, V. — Esp.: dies atri, unlucky days (marked in the calendar with coal): si atro die faxit insciens, probe factum esto, L.— Malevolent, malicious, virulent: versus, H.: dens, poisonous, H.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *ātros, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁ter- (“fire”) (whence Proto-Iranian *HáHtr̥š (“fire”), Umbrian 𐌀𐌕𐌓𐌖 (atru), Oscan 𐌀𐌀𐌃𐌝𐌓𐌉𐌉𐌔 (aadíriis), Old Irish áith (“kiln”)).
Descendants
- Frenchâtre
- Italianatro
- Portugueseatro
- Spanishatro