adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
caeruleus
caeruleus (feminine caerulea, neuter caeruleum)
Classical[kae̯ˈrʊ.ɫe.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[t͡ʃeˈruː.le.us]
caerula sg. nom. f.; pl. nom. n.; pl. acc. n.; sg. abl. f.; sg. voc. f.; pl. voc. n.Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectiveDyed or colored blue
- adjectiveColored with woad
- adjectiveUsed as an epithet of sea and river deities or things connected with them
- adjectiveGlossy greenish-blue
- adjectiveBlue-eyed
- adjectiveDark-colored, dusky, gloomy
- adjectiveDark-colored, dusky, gloomy
- adjectiveA spring and aqueduct at Rome
- adjectiverareOf or connected with the sky, celestial
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
colōre caelī serēnī et maris.caeruleus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs
color maris et caelīcaeruleus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | caeruleus ceruleus, coeruleus | caerulea caerula, cerulea, coerulea | caeruleum caerulum, ceruleum, coeruleum |
| genitive | caeruleī caerulī, ceruleī, coeruleī | caeruleae caerulae, ceruleae, coeruleae | caeruleī caerulī, ceruleī, coeruleī |
| dative | caeruleō caerulō, ceruleō, coeruleō | caeruleae caerulae, ceruleae, coeruleae | caeruleō caerulō, ceruleō, coeruleō |
| accusative | caeruleum caerulum, ceruleum, coeruleum | caeruleam caerulam, ceruleam, coeruleam | caeruleum caerulum, ceruleum, coeruleum |
| ablative | caeruleō caerulō, ceruleō, coeruleō | caeruleā caerulā, ceruleā, coeruleā | caeruleō caerulō, ceruleō, coeruleō |
| vocative | caerulee caerule, cerulee, coerulee | caerulea caerula, cerulea, coerulea | caeruleum caerulum, ceruleum, coeruleum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | caeruleī caerulī, ceruleī, coeruleī | caeruleae caerulae, ceruleae, coeruleae | caerulea caerula, cerulea, coerulea |
| genitive | caeruleōrum caerulōrum, ceruleōrum, coeruleōrum | caeruleārum caerulārum, ceruleārum, coeruleārum | caeruleōrum caerulōrum, ceruleōrum, coeruleōrum |
| dative | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs |
| accusative | caeruleōs caerulōs, ceruleōs, coeruleōs | caeruleās caerulās, ceruleās, coeruleās | caerulea caerula, cerulea, coerulea |
| ablative | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs | caeruleīs caerulīs, ceruleīs, coeruleīs |
| vocative | caeruleī caerulī, ceruleī, coeruleī | caeruleae caerulae, ceruleae, coeruleae | caerulea caerula, cerulea, coerulea |
caerŭlĕus, and in poetry equally common, caerŭlus, a, um, adj. cf. cae -sius, κύανος, and Sanscr. cjamas = dark
I. Lit., dark-colored, dark blue, dark green, cerulean, azure, κυάνεος; poet. epithet of the sky, of the sea, and other similar objects (as dark, opp. albus and marmoreus color, Lucr. 2, 771 sq., and syn. with ater, Verg. A. 3, 64; v. under II. A.).
A. Of the sky: caeli caerula templa, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 50 Vahl.); id. ap. Varr, L. L. 7, § 6 Müll. (Ann. v. 66 Vahl.); cf.:
(zonae) extremae Caeruleā glacie concretae, Verg. G. 1, 236.—Also subst.: caerŭla. ōrum, n., Ov. M. 14, 814: per caeli caerula, Lucr. 1, 1089; 6, 96; and without caeli, id. 6, 482.—Of the universe: magni per caerula mundi, Lucr. 5, 770; and of the brightness of the stars: bigae, Verg. Cir. 37.—Of mountain heights, Ov. M. 11, 158; cf. candor, Plin. 35, 6, 28, § 47: splendor, id. 37, 9, 51, § 134.—B. Of the sea:
ponti plaga caerula, Lucr. 5, 482; cf. id. 2, 772 sq.: pontus, Cat. 36, 11; Ov. M. 13, 838: mare, Cic. Ac. Fragm. ap. Non. p. 162, 30: aequora, Cat. 64, 7; so, campi = mare, Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 15: aquae, Ov. M. 8, 229; 15, 699: undae, Tib. 1, 3, 37; 1, 4, 45; Varr. ap. Non. p. 254, 21: vada, Verg. A. 7, 198: gurges, Ov. M. 2, 528: color (lacus) caerulo albidi or, viridior et pressior, Plin. Ep. 8, 20, 4: Oceani amictus, Claud. Laud. Stil. 2, 249; App. M. 10, p. 254, 11.—Also subst.: cae-rŭla, ōrum, n., the sea, the blue surface of the sea: caerula verrunt, Verg. A. 4, 583; 3, 208; 8, 672; Stat. Th. 3, 250.—Of objects that have relation to the sea: di, sea-deities, Ov. M. 2, 8 sq.: deus, κατʼ ἐξοχήν, Neptune, Prop. 3 (4), 7, 62; cf. of the same: Jovis frater, Ov. M. 1, 275: Triton, id. ib. 1. 333: Nereus. id. H. 9, 14: Thetis, Tib. 1, 5, 46; and of the same: mater (sc. Achillis), Hor. Epod. 13, 16; Ov. M. 13, 288: Psamathe, a sea-nymph, id. ib. 11, 398: oculi Neptuni. Cic. N. D. 1, 30, 83: currus (Neptuni), Verg. A. 5, 819: equi (Tritonis), Ov. H. 7, 50: Scylla (navis), Verg. A. 5, 123; cf. color. Ov M. 14, 555: puppis, id. F. 2, 112; via. Plaut Rud. 1, 5, 10; Ov. H. 16, 104.—C. Also of rivers and things that are connected therewith:
caeruleus Thybris, Verg. A. 8, 64 amnis, Tib. 3, 4, 18; Stat. S. 1, 5, 51: Cydnus. Tib. 1, 7, 14: crines, Ov. M. 5, 432; guttae. id. ib. 5, 633.—D. Of other darkblue objects:
omnes se Britanni vitro inficiunt, quod caeruleum efficit colorem, atque hoc horridiores sunt in pugnā aspectu, Caes. B. G. 5, 14: an si caeruleo quaedam sua tempora fuco Tinxerit. idcirco caerula forma bona'st? Prop. 2, 18, 31 sq. (3, 11, 9 sq.); Mart. 11, 53, 1: olearum plaga, Lucr. 5, 1372; draco. Ov. M. 12, 13' angues, Verg. G. 4, 482; colla, id. A. 2, 381: serpens, Ov. M. 3, 38: guttae (serpentis), id. ib. 4, 578: vestis. Juv. 2. 97: vexillum, Suet. Aug. 25: flos (heliotropi), Plin. 22, 21, 29, § 57: oculi (Germanorum), Tac. G. 4; hence Germania pubes, Hor. Epod. 16, 7.—Hence, subst.: caerŭlĕum, i, n., a blue color, steel-color, both natural and artificial, Plin. 33, 13, 57, § 161 sq.; 35, 6, 28, § 47; Vitr. 7, 111; 9, 1.—II. Transf.
A. In gen., dark, gloomy, dun, sable, black; poet. epithet of death, the night, rain, etc.:
stant Manibus arae Caeruleis moestae vittis, Verg. A. 3, 64 Serv.: imber, id. ib. 3, 194; 5, 10: caeruleus (color) pluviam denuntiat, id. G. 1, 453; so, equi (Plutonis), Ov. F. 4, 446: ratis fati, Prop. 2 (3), 28, 40. puppis (Charontis), Verg. A. 6, 410: mors, Albin. ad Liv. 1, 93: nox, Stat. S. 1, 6, 85: umbra noctis, id. Th. 2, 528; Verg. Cir. 214: panis, Juv. 14, 128: baca (lauri), Plin. 15, 30, 39, § 128: bacis caerula tinus, Ov. M. 10, 98.— B. Dark green, green, greenish:
cucumis, Prop. 4 (5), 2, 43. coma, Ov. M. 11, 158: arbor Palladis, id. A. A. 2, 518: campi caerula laetaque prata, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 3.Caerŭlĕus, i, m.,
I. the name of an aqueduct at Rome, Plin. 36, 15, 24, § 122; Suet. Claud. 20; Front. Aquaed. 13.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
caeruleus adj.
for * caeluleus, from caelum, like the sky, azure, blue, dark blue, dark green: color, Cs.: oculi, Ta.: glacies, V.: aquae, O.: di, of the sea, O.: frater (lovis), Neptune, O.: currus, of Neptune, V.: Thybris, V.: angues, V.: guttae, O.: scutulata, a blue checked garment, Iu.: Germania pubes, blue-eyed, H.: panis, mouldy, Iu.: cucumis, Pr.—Dark, gloomy, sable, dim, pitchy (poet.): vittae, V.: imber, V.
Origins
Dissimilation of *caeluleus, derived from caelum (“sky, heaven”) + -uleus (diminutive suffix). However, in Classical Latin the word is attested as denoting the color of the rainy sky and that of deep water, and was on the whole associated with water.
Descendants
- Catalanceruli
- Englishcerulean
- Frenchcéruléen
- Italianceruleo
- Portuguesecerúleo
- Romanianceruleu
- Spanishcerúleo
In English words that came into English from caeruleus
- ceruleancaeruleus
- cerulecaerulus
- ceruleumceruleum
- subcoeruleuscoeruleus
- ceruloplasmincaeruleus
- cerulescencecaerulescens