LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

balteus

balteus m (genitive balteī)
Classical[ˈbaɫ.te.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈbal.te.us]

Meaning

  1. masculineA belt, girdle
  2. masculineA sub-cinctorium, a papal garment.
  3. masculinesynonym of praecinctio (curved walkway that separates the galleries of a Roman theatre)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

cingulum gladiī umerāle
balteus -ī (m) — in Aeneis, ch. 21

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebalteusbalteī
genitivebalteībalteōrum
dativebalteōbalteīs
accusativebalteumbalteōs
ablativebalteōbalteīs
vocativebalteebalteī

baltĕus, i, m., more rare baltĕum, i, n. (in plur. baltea was generally used in the poets metri gr.; and in ante-class. prose balteum, e. g. Varr. L. L. 5, § 116 Müll.; Non. p. 194, 21; Charis. p. 59 P.) [acc. to Varr. ap. Charis. 1. 1. a Tuscan word; but cf. O. H. Germ. balz; Engl. belt] (not in Cic.).
I. Lit., a girdle, belt; esp. a swordbelt, or the band passing over the shoulder (cf. Quint. 11, 3, 140; Dict. of Antiq.): baltea, Att. ap. Non. p. 194, 21; Varr. ib.: infelix umero cum apparuit alto Balteus, Verg. A. 12, 942: lato quam circumplectitur auro Balteus, id. ib. 5, 313 Serv.; 12, 274: verutum in balteo defigitur, Caes. B. G. 5, 44: aurata baltea illis erant, Liv. H. ap. Non. p. 194, 21: gregarius miles viatica sua et balteos phalerasque loco pecuniae tradebant, Tac. H. 1, 57 fin.; Vulg. Exod. 28, 39: regum, ib. Job, 12, 18.—
B. Poet., like ζωστήρ, a woman's girdle; so of that of Amazonian queens at Thermodon, Ov. M. 9, 189; the girdle of the wife of Cato, Luc. 2, 362; of Venus, Mart. 14, 207.—
C. The girdle of the Jewish high-priest, Vulg. Exod. 28, 4.—
D. The girdle or belly-band of a horse, = cingula, Claud. Epigr. 21, 2; App. M. 10, p. 247, 37.—
II. Transf., that which surrounds like a girdle, a border, rim, edge, circle.
A. The belt of the heavens, the zodiac: stellatus balteus, Manil. 1, 677; 3, 334.—
B. The edge, the crust of a cake, Cato, R. R. 76, 3, and 78.—
C. The bark of the willow, Plin. 16, 37, 68, § 174.—
D. = praecinctio, and Gr. διάξωμα, the vacant space between the seats in the amphitheatre, Calp. Ecl. 4, 47; Tert. Spect. 3.—
E. Baltei pulvinorum, in architecture, the broad bands by which the cushions upon Ionic capitals are, as it were, held together, Vitr. 3, 5, 7.—
F. A strapping, blow with a belt: quoties rumoribus ulciscantur Baltea, Juv. 9, 112.

Origins

Charisius says Varro considered it of Etruscan origin (compare Etruscan 𐌁𐌀𐌋𐌕𐌄𐌀 (baltea, “belt”)). Ernout and Meillet accept its Etruscan origin and interpret -eus as a characteristic ending of Etruscan loanwords, whereas Bonfante Warren is skeptical of this etymology, noting that the voiced consonant /b/ is foreign to Etruscan.

Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesebalso
  • Portuguesebalsa
  • Portuguesebalça
  • Portuguesebalção
Borrowings
  • Italianbalteo
  • Portuguesebálteo
  • Spanishbálteo
  • Esperantobalteo
  • Proto-Germanic*baltijaz
Italo-Romance
  • Italianbalzo
  • Italianbalza
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanbalç
  • Occitanbaus
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianbalț
  • Aromanianbaltsu

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesBalteusBalteus in the plural baltea (πελαμών, ἀορτήρ), a belt, is sometimes used in poetry to denote a woman's girdle (Ovid, Ov. Met. 9.189; Lucan 2.362; Mar…

Quick answers

What does balteus mean in Latin?
balteus, a noun, means “A belt, girdle; synonym of praecinctio (curved walkway that separates the galleries of a Roman theatre)”.
What is the genitive of balteus?
The genitive singular is balteī. balteus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce balteus?
In classical Latin, [ˈbaɫ.te.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbal.te.us].