LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

auxilium1

auxilium n (genitive auxiliī or auxilī)
Classical[au̯kˈsɪ.li.ũː]Ecclesiastical[au̯kˈsiː.li.um]
№ 543 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterhelp, aid, assistance, relief
    [...] “Quiane auxiliō iuvat ante levātōs, / et bene apud memorēs veteris stat grātia factī?”[Dido, with bitter sarcasm:] “After all, didn’t it once delight [the Trojans] to be comforted by [my] aid, and don’t [they] remain well-pleased with memories of the former [help that I] gave [them]?”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.538–539
  2. neuterantidote, remedy

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Auxilium · Opem ferre · Opitulari · Juvare · Adjuvare

1. Auxilium, opem ferre, and opitulari, suppose a person in a strait, whom one would rescue from necessity and danger, in opp. to deserere, destituere, and so forth; the auxilium ferens is to be considered as an ally, who makes himself subservient to the personal safety, or to the interest of him who is in a strait; the opem ferens, as a benefactor, who employs his power and strength for the benefit of the weak; whereas juvare and adjuvare (ἰᾶσθαι) suppose only a person striving to do something, which he may be enabled to do better and quicker by help, in opp. to impedire, Cic. Verr. i. 6. Ter. Heaut. v. 2, 39. Matres solent esse filiis in peccato adjutrices, auxilio in paterna injuria. When in Liv. ii. 6, Tarquin entreats the Veientes, ferrent opem, adjuvarent, he is first considered as exulans, then as regnum repetiturus. 2. Opem and auxilium ferre derive their emphasis from the noun, to bring help, and nothing else; whereas opitulari, and the poetical word, auxiliari, derive their emphasis from their verbal form, and mean to bring help, and not to refuse. (v. 70.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeauxiliumauxilia
genitiveauxiliī
auxilī		auxiliōrum
dativeauxiliōauxiliīs
accusativeauxiliumauxilia
ablativeauxiliōauxiliīs
vocativeauxiliumauxilia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

auxilium praesens
prompt assistance.
auxilia arcessere
to summon auxiliary troops.
auxilio alicui venire
to come to assist any one.
ad extremum auxilium descendere
to be reduced to one's last resource.
auxilium, opem, salutem ferre alicui
to bring aid to; to rescue.

auxĭlĭum, ii, n. augeo,
I. help, aid, assistance, support, succor (syn.: adjumentum, opes, praesidium, subsidium).
I. In gen.: Fer mi auxilium, Enn. ap. Cic. Ac. 2, 28, 89: quo praesidio fretus, auxiliis quibus? Pac. ap. Non. p. 262, 32: auxilium argentarium, Plaut. Ps. 1,1, 103; id. Ep. 1, 2, 14: non habeo ad auxilium copiam, Ter. And. 2, 1, 20: navita indigus omni vitali auxilio, Lucr. 5, 224: venerunt ad auxilium, Vulg. Jud. 5, 23; ib. Isa. 10, 3 al.—Hence the phrases: auxilium esse alicui, to assist one, Plaut. Curc. 2, 2, 17; and more freq.: auxilio esse alicui, Enn. ap. Non. p. 111, 16; Plaut. Poen. 5, 3, 18; 5, 4, 107; Ter. Heaut. 5, 2, 39; Nep. Milt. 5, 1; id. Att. 11, 1; Hor. S. 1, 4, 141; Ov. M. 12, 90 al.: auxilium ferre alicui, to bring assistance, to aid, succor, Plaut. Stich. 2, 2, 5; Ter. And. 1, 1, 115; id. Ad. 2, 1, 1; Lucr. 3, 1064; Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 3; (contra aliquem), id. Cat. 2, 9, 19; Caes. B. G. 1, 13; Hor. Epod. 1, 21; Ov. M. 2, 580; 4, 693; 13, 71; Vulg. Jud. 20, 14; ib. Job, 30, 13 al.; once adferre, Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 2: dare, Verg. A. 2, 691; Vulg. Psa. 59, 13; 107, 13: praebere, ib. Jud. 12, 2; ib. 1 Par. 12, 21: auxilium sibi adjungere, Cic. Rosc. Am. 40, 116: expetere, Ter. And. 2, 1, 19 sq.: unde auxilium petam? id. Phorm. 5, 1, 2: petere ab aliquo, Cic. Or. 41, 141; Ov. M. 7, 507; 5, 178; 14, 461; Vulg. 1 Esdr. 8, 22; ib. Judith, 6, 21 et saep.—In plur.: cum (mare) tumet, auxiliis adsidet ille (navita) suis, Ov. A. A. 3, 260: auxilia portare, Sall. C. 6, 5 Kritz: magna duo auxilia, sources of aid, Liv. 31, 33, 3: ne auxilia liberorum innocentibus deessent, Quint. 7, 1, 56 et saep.—Meton. (abstr. for concr.), a place of succor, refuge (eccl. Lat.): sex (oppida) erunt in fugitivorum auxilia separata, Vulg. Num. 35, 6. —
II. Esp.
A. In milit. lang. very freq., and commonly in plur.: auxĭlĭa, ōrum, auxiliary troops, auxiliaries (mostly composed of allies and light-armed troops; hence opp. to the legions): auxilium appellatum ab auctu, cum accesserant ei qui adjumento essent alienigenae, Varr. L L. 5, § 90 Müll.; Veg. 2, 2; cf. auxiliares, and Smith, Dict. Antiq.: quibus (copiis) rex Deiotarus imperatoribus nostris auxilia mitteret, Cic. Deiot. 8, 22; so Sall. J 7, 2; Liv. 5, 5, 8 al.: auxiliis in mediam aciem conjectis, Caes. B. G. 3, 24; so, dimittere, Sall. J. 8, 2: ab sociis et nomine Latino accersere, id. ib. 39, 2; cf. id. ib. 84, 2: facere mercede, Tac. A. 6, 33; Vulg. 1 Macc. 9, 52; ib. 2 Macc. 8, 15 et saep.—Opp to the legions: sex legiones et magna equitum ac peditum auxilia, Cic. Part. Or. 6, 1; so Suet. Aug. 23; 49; id. Tib. 16; 30; id. Calig. 43; 44; id. Galb. 10 al.—In sing.: Oroden auctus auxilio Pharasmanes vocare ad pugnam, Tac. A. 6, 34; Ov. M. 11, 387.—Borrowed from miht. lang.: Duodecim deis plus quam in caelo deorumst inmortalium Mihi nunc auxilio adjutores sunt, Plaut. Ep. 5, 2, 10 sq.: Auxilia ac socios jam pacto foedere habebant, Lucr. 5, 1443.—In gen.: auxilia, military force, power: Caesar confisus famā rerum gestarum, infirmis auxiliis proficisci non dubitaverat, Caes. B. C. 3, 106; Flor. 2, 8, 15; Just. 1, 6.—
B. In medic. lang., an antidote, remedy, in the most extended sense of the word: corporis, Cels. 2, 9; so id. 2, 11 fin.; 4, 22; 5, 26, n. 21 al.: adversae valetudinis, id. 1 praef.; Plin. 25, 3, 6, § 20.—
C. Auxilium as a personified existence, like Fides. Salus, etc., in Plaut. Cist. 1, 3, 6.

Origins

Back-formation from *auxilis, itself from Proto-Italic *aug-s-illi-, from Proto-Italic *augeō.

Descendants
  • Catalanauxili
  • Italianausilio
  • Portugueseauxílio
  • Spanishauxilio

In English words that came into English from auxilium

  • auxiliaryauxiliārius
  • auxiliarauxiliaris
proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Auxilium2
Auxilium m sg (genitive Auxiliī or Auxilī)
Classical[au̯kˈsɪ.li.ũː]Ecclesiastical[au̯kˈsiː.li.um]

Meaning

  1. masculinesingulara male given name, a god

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeAuxilium—
genitiveAuxiliī
Auxilī		—
dativeAuxiliō—
accusativeAuxilium—
ablativeAuxiliō—
vocativeAuxilium—

Origins

Personification of auxilium (“help, aid”). Compare Fidēs, Salus.

Quick answers

What does auxilium mean in Latin?
auxilium, a noun, means “help, aid, assistance, relief; antidote, remedy”.
What is the genitive of auxilium?
The genitive singular is auxiliī. auxilium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce auxilium?
In classical Latin, [au̯kˈsɪ.li.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [au̯kˈsiː.li.um].