adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
aureus1
aureus (feminine aurea, neuter aureum)
Classical[ˈau̯.re.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈaːu̯.re.us]
№ 691 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectiveMade of gold, golden; gilded
- adjectiveOf the color of gold, gold-colored; shining or glittering like gold
- adjectivefigurativelyof physical and mental greatness or attraction: golden, beautiful, splendid, magnificent, excellent
Nec mora, cōnsēdit mediō sublīmis Olympō
[With] no delay, she took her seat on high in the midst of Olympus: magnificent, [and so] conspicuous in her purple garment. (Refers to the goddess Maiestas, Majestas, or Majesty.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.27–28
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
colōre aurī; prīma aetās hominum aurea vocātur.aureus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs
ex aurō factus; optimusaureus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 5
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Frenum · Habena · Oreæ
1. Frenum (from φράξαι?) is the bridle with which the rider breaks the wild horse, like χαλινός; whereas habena (from hebes, χαβός, κάμψαι,) the rein with which he turns the obedient horse, like ἡνίον. Hor. Ep. i. 15, 13. Læva stomachosus habena dicet eques; sed equi frenato est auris in ore; that is, he minds not the reins, and must feel the bit. Cic. Orat. i. 53. Senatum servire populo, cui populus ipse moderandi et regendi sui potestatem quasi quasdam habenas tradidisset: comp. with Tac. Dial. 38. Pompeius adstrinxit, imposuitque quasi frenos eloquentiæ. 2. Oreæ, aureæ, now only to be found in auriga, were, perhaps, the generic term of frenum and habena, like harness. (v. 137.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | aureus | aurea | aureum |
| genitive | aureī | aureae | aureī |
| dative | aureō | aureae | aureō |
| accusative | aureum | auream | aureum |
| ablative | aureō | aureā | aureō |
| vocative | auree | aurea | aureum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | aureī | aureae | aurea |
| genitive | aureōrum | aureārum | aureōrum |
| dative | aureīs | aureīs | aureīs |
| accusative | aureōs | aureās | aurea |
| ablative | aureīs | aureīs | aureīs |
| vocative | aureī | aureae | aurea |
aurĕus, a, um, adj. id..
I. Lit.
A. Of gold, golden (syn.:
aureolus, auratus, aurifer): patera, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 104 and 263: vasa, Vulg. Exod. 12, 35; ib. 2 Tim. 2, 20: torulus, Plaut. Am. prol. 144: imber, Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 37: funis, Lucr. 2, 1154: torques. Vulg. Gen. 41, 42: simulacra, Lucr. 2, 24: mala Hesperidum, id. 5, 33: aurea mala, Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 6: pelles, id. ib.: corona (a gift for distinction in war), Liv. 7, 37, 1; Inscr. Orell. 363; 3453; 3475: corona, Vulg. Exod. 25, 11: candelabra, ib. Apoc. 1, 12: nummus, and absol.: aurĕus, i, m., the standard gold coin of Rome, a gold piece (first struck in the second Punic war), of the value of 25 denarii or 100 sestertii (weighing about 120 grains, and being about equal to £1, 1s. 1d. or $5.10), Cic. Phil. 12, 8: si (tibi) contigit aureus unus. Juv. 7, 122; fully, aureus nummus, Plin. 33, 3, 13, § 47; Suet. Calig. 42; id. Claud. 21; id. Vit. 16; id. Oth. 4; id. Dom. 7 al.—Of the Hebrew shekels (eccl. Lat.), Vulg. 4 Reg. 5, 5; ib. 2 Par. 9, 15; 9, 16.—Poet.: vis aurea tinxit Flumen, i. e. the power of changing every thing to gold, Ov. M. 11, 142.—B. Furnished with gold, wrought, interwoven, or ornamented with gold, gilded:
victimam auream polcram immolabat, i. e. with gilded horns, Naev. 1, 12 (cf. Hom. Od. 3, 426): sella, Cic. Phil. 2, 34, and Prop. 5, 10, 28: cingula, Verg. A. 1, 492: Capitolia, id. ib. 8, 347. templa, Prop. 5, 1, 5: cuspis, Ov. M. 7, 673: Pactolus, whose waters flowed with gold, id. ib. 11, 87; cf: Lucr 5, 911 sq.—C. Of the color of gold, glittering like gold, golden:
liquidi color aureus ignis, Lucr. 6, 205: Barba erat incipiens, barbae color aureus, Ov. M. 12, 395; Plin. 37, 5, 20, § 76; Gell. 2, 26, 5; Pall. Mart. 13, 4: lumina solis, Lucr. 5, 461; so, aurea Phoebe, Verg. G. 1, 431; Ov. M. 2, 723: luna, id. ib. 10, 448; Hor. Epod 17, 41: aureus sol, Verg. G 1, 232; 4, 51; so Ov. M. 7, 663: sidera, Verg A. 2, 488; 11, 832: caesaries, golden locks, id. ib. 8, 659: coma, Cat. 61, 95, and Ov. M. 12, 395: aurea mala, Verg. E. 3, 71, and 8, 52: Aurea pavonum ridenti imbuta lepore Saecla, the golden species of peacock, full of laughing beauty, Lucr 2, 502.—II. Trop., of physical and mental excellences or attractions, golden, beautiful, splendid:
aurea Venus, Verg. A. 10, 16; Ov M. 10, 277; 15, 761: Amor, id. Am. 2, 18, 36: Copia, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 28: Aurea Phoebi porticus, Prop. 3, 29, 1: litus, Mart. 11, 80: aether, Ov. M. 13, 587: medicamentum, Col. 6, 14, 5 al.: dicta, vita, Lucr. 3, 12 and 13: mores, Hor. C 4, 2, 23: Qui nunc te fruitur credulus aureā, id. ib. 1, 5, 9: tua mater Me movet atque iras aurea vincit anus, Tib. 1, 6, 58: mediocritas, the golden mean, Hor. C. 2, 10, 5: aetas, the golden age, Ov. M. 1, 89: tempus, Hor. Epod. 16, 64.—Hence, Virgo = Astraea, Albin. 2, 23.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
aureus (poet. aureā, aureō, aureīs, disyl.), adj.
aurum, of gold, golden: imber, T.: corona (a military distinction), L.: vis, of turning into gold, O.: nummus, a gold coin, piece (worth $5.10 or £1 1s.). — As subst m. (sc. nummus), L., Cu.— Golden, ornamented with gold, gilded: sella: cingula, V.: cuspis, O.: Pactolus, with golden sand, V. — Fig., glittering like gold, golden: color, O.: Venus, with golden hair, V.: luna, O.: caesaries, V. —Beautiful, golden, magnificent, excellent: aether, O.: mores, H.: mediocritas, the golden mean, H.: genus: aetas, the golden age, O.: tempus, H.: saecula, V.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-der. Proto-Italic *auzom Latin aurum Proto-Indo-European *-éyos Proto-Italic *-ejos Proto-Italic *-eos Latin -eus Latin aureus From aurum (“gold”) + -eus (“-ous”, derivational suffix).