LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininesecond declension

buxus

buxus f (genitive buxī)
Classical[ˈbʊk.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈbuk.sus]

Meaning

  1. femininethe evergreen box tree.
  2. femininea thing made of boxwood.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativebuxusbuxī
buxa
genitivebuxībuxōrum
dativebuxōbuxīs
accusativebuxumbuxōs
buxa
ablativebuxōbuxīs
vocativebuxebuxī
buxa

buxus, i, f., = πύξος (cf. Prisc. p. 549, and the letter B).
I. Lit., the pale, evergreen box-tree, Enn. ap. Phylarg. l. l.: buxus densa foliis, Ov. A. A. 3, 691: crispata, Claud. Rapt. Pros. 2, 110: horrida, id. ib. 2, 268: perpetuo virens, Ov. M. 10, 97; Plin. 16, 43, 84, § 230; for its natural history, v. Plin. 16, 16, 28, § 70 sq.—
II. For things made of boxwood (cf. Plin. 16, 36, 66, § 172), a pipe or flute: tympana vos buxasque vocant Berecyntia. Verg. A. 9, 619 Forbig. ad loc.; Ov. M. 4, 30; Stat. Th. 2, 77; 9, 480; Claud. in Eutr. 2, 286; id. Rapt. Pros. 1, 209; 3, 130.

Origins

Uncertain. Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos, “box tree”) is cognate, but probably not the origin, as the tree grew in Italy and is not native to Greece or Asia Minor. Both the Latin and Greek may be from an Italian substrate language.

Descendants
  • Catalanboix
  • Frenchbuis
  • Italianbosso
  • Italianbossolo
  • Occitanbois
  • Portuguesebuxo
  • Romanianbucsău
  • Romanianbuștean
  • Spanishboj
  • Spanishbujo

Quick answers

What does buxus mean in Latin?
buxus, a noun, means “the evergreen box tree.; a thing made of boxwood.”.
What is the genitive of buxus?
The genitive singular is buxī. buxus is feminine, second declension.
How do you pronounce buxus?
In classical Latin, [ˈbʊk.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈbuk.sus].