LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

axis

axis m (genitive axis)
Classical[ˈak.sɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈak.sis]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculineAn axletree of wagon, car, chariot.
  2. masculineThe North Pole.
  3. masculineThe heavens or a region or clime of these.
  4. masculineA board, plank.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

circum quem caelum vertī vidētur; axis mundī ad septentriōnēs spectat.
axis -is m — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Axes · Plancæ · Tabulæ

Axes or asses, and plancæ, are unwrought boards, as they come from the saw, and asses as a usual term, plancæ as a technical term; whereas tabulæ are boards that have been made smooth by the plane, to serve the purposes of luxury. (vi. 34.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeaxisaxēs
assēs
genitiveaxisaxium
assium
dativeaxī
assī		axibus
assibus
accusativeaxem
assem		axēs
axīs, assēs
ablativeaxe
asse		axibus
assibus
vocativeaxisaxēs
assēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

heres ex asse, ex dodrante
sole heir; heir to three-quarters of the estate.
vertex caeli, axis caeli, cardo caeli
the pole.

axis, is, m. kindred with Gr. ἄξων; Sanscr. akshas = axle, wheel; old Germ. Ahsa; mod. Germ. Achse; Engl. axle, Bopp, Gloss. p. 2, a; cf. Aufrecht, Zeitschr. für vergl. Sprachf. 8, p. 71.
I. Lit., an axletree, about which a round body, e.g. a wheel, turns: faginus axis, Verg. G. 3, 172: axes aerii, Vulg. 3 Reg. 7, 30; 7, 33: axis versatilis, ib. Eccli. 33, 5 al.—Meton. (pars pro toto), a chariot, car, wagon, Ov. M. 2, 59; id. H. 4, 160; Sen. Herc. Oet. 1442; Sil. 16, 360 al.—Plur., Ov. M. 2, 148; 4, 634.—
II. Transf.
A. The axle of a water-clock, Vitr. 9, 6.—
B. The axis of the earth: mundum versari circum axem caeli, Cic. N. D. 1, 20, 52; so id. Ac. 2, 39, 123; id. Tim. 10; Lucr. 6, 1107.—Hence, meton.
a. The pole, Luc. 7, 422: axis inocciduus, id. 8, 175: meridianus, Vitr. 6, 1.—
b. Esp., the north pole, Lucr. 6, 720; Cic. Tusc. 1, 28, 68; Verg. G. 2, 271; 3, 351; Ov. P. 4, 7, 2; Manil. 4, 589.—
c. The whole heavens: maximus Atlas Axem umero torquet stellis ardentibus aptum, Verg. A. 4, 482; 6, 536; Ov. M. 1, 255; 2, 75; 2, 297; 6, 175; id. Tr. 1, 2, 46; Stat. Th. 5, 86; id. S. 3, 3, 76 al.—Hence, sub axe, under the open heaven, Verg. A. 2, 512; 8, 28.—
d. A region of the heavens, a clime: boreus, the north, Ov. Tr. 4, 8, 41: hesperius, the west, id. M. 4, 214; Luc. 3, 359.—
C. A pin or hook on which a hinge turns, Stat. Th. 1, 346.—
D. The valve of a pipe, Vitr. 10, 12.—
E. Axes volutarum, in archit., the axes of a volute, Vitr. 3, 3.—
F. A board, plank, Caes. B. C. 2, 9; Vitr. 4, 2; 7, 1; Col. 6, 30, 2; Plin. 36, 25, 62, § 187; Luc. 3, 455; Gell. 2, 12 al.—
G. An unknown wild animal in India, Plin. 8, 21, 31, § 76.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *aksis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs-i-s, from *h₂eḱs- (“axis, axle”); see also Lithuanian ašis (“axle”), Russian ось (osʹ), Sanskrit अक्ष (ákṣa, “axis, axle, balance beam”), Ancient Greek ἄξων (áxōn, “axle”), Old High German ahsa (“axle”), Icelandic eax, öxull, öksull, Old English eaxl (whence English axle). Compare also Etruscan 𐌀𐌂𐌔𐌉 (Acsi, “the Axia gens”).

Elsewhere
  • Catalanaxis
  • Englishaxis
  • Frenchaxe
  • Occitanaxe
  • Portugueseaxe
  • Portugueseáxis
  • Romanianax
  • Romanianaxă
  • Spanishaxis
  • Franco-Provençalaxo
Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchais
  • Catalaneix
  • Occitanais
  • Franco-Provençalèssi
  • Franco-Provençalèshi
  • Franco-Provençalassi
  • Franco-Provençalashi
  • Franco-Provençalaissi
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseeixofrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixe
  • Spanishejefrom Old Spanish exe
  • Aragoneseeixe
  • Aragoneseexe
  • Asturianexa
  • Asturianexe
  • Asturianex
  • Galicianeixefrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixe
  • Galicianeixofrom Old Galician-Portuguese eixe
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianasse
  • Venetanase
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianas
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardax
  • Piedmonteseass

Quick answers

What does axis mean in Latin?
axis, a noun, means “An axletree of wagon, car, chariot.; The North Pole.; The heavens or a region or clime of these.”.
What is the genitive of axis?
The genitive singular is axis. axis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce axis?
In classical Latin, [ˈak.sɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈak.sis].