adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
cānus
cānus (feminine cāna, neuter cānum)
Classical[ˈkaː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaː.nus]
Meaning
- adjectivewhite
- adjectivehoary
- adjectivefrothy
- adjectivegray
‘Magna fuit quondam capitis reverentia cānī,
‘‘At one time, there was great respect of a gray head, and the wrinkling of old age was with value in itself.’’ (The voice is that of the muse Urania.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.57–58
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
albus, ut capillī senumcānus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 5
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | cānus | cāna | cānum |
| genitive | cānī | cānae | cānī |
| dative | cānō | cānae | cānō |
| accusative | cānum | cānam | cānum |
| ablative | cānō | cānā | cānō |
| vocative | cāne | cāna | cānum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | cānī | cānae | cāna |
| genitive | cānōrum | cānārum | cānōrum |
| dative | cānīs | cānīs | cānīs |
| accusative | cānōs | cānās | cāna |
| ablative | cānīs | cānīs | cānīs |
| vocative | cānī | cānae | cāna |
cānus, a, um, adj. Sanscr. Kas-, to shine; cf. cascus,
I. white, hoary (mostly poet.).
I. Lit.:
fluctus, Lucr. 2, 767; Cic. Arat. 71; hence aqua, foamy, frothy, Ov. H. 2, 16: nix, white, Lucr. 3, 21; Hor. S. 2, 5, 41: gelu, Verg. G. 3, 442: montes, id. ib. 1, 43: pruina, hoar-frost, Hor. C. 1, 4, 4: grandine canus Athos, Ov. Ib. 200: salicta, id. M. 5, 590: segetes, id. ib. 10, 655: aristae, id. ib. 6, 456: lupus, id. ib. 6, 527; 7, 550: favilla, id. ib. 8, 524: color equi, Pall. Mart. 14, 4: arborum villi, Plin. 12, 23, 50, § 108: situs, id. 12, 25, 55, § 125.—B. Esp. freq. of the gray hair of the aged:
cano capite atque albā barbā, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 15; id. As. 5, 2, 84; Cat. 68, 124; Tib. 1, 1, 72; Ov. F. 5, 57: capilli, Hor. C. 2, 11, 15; Ov. M. 1, 266; 2, 30; 4, 474; Phaedr. 2, 2, 10: crinis, Cat. 64, 350; Ov. M. 13, 427: barba, Mart. 4, 36 al.—Hence, subst. in plur.: cāni, ōrum, m. (sc. capilli), gray hairs: non cani, non rugae repente auctoritatem arripere possunt, Cic. Sen. 18, 62; Ov. M. 3, 275; in Aug. and post-Aug. poets (esp. freq. in Ovid) with adjj.: falsi, Ov. M. 6, 26: honorati, id. ib. 8, 9: positi, id. ib. 14, 655: rari, id. ib. 8, 567: sui, id. ib. 10, 391: miseri, Pers. 5, 65: venerandi. Sen. Herc. Fur. 1249.—Hence, II. Transf., of age and of aged persons. old, aged:
senectus, hoary, Cat. 108, 1: anilitas, id. 61, 162: amator, Tib. 1, 8, 29: cana veritas, venerable, Varr. ap. Non. p. 243, 1: Fides, Verg. A. 1, 292: Vesta, id. ib. 5, 744.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cānus adj.
2 CAS-, white, hoary: aqua, foamy, O.: nix, H.: montes, V.: pruina, hoarfrost, H. — Gray, white (of hair): capilli, H.: erinis, O.: caput, Ct. — Plur m. as subst. (sc. capilli), gray hairs: falsi, O.: honorati, O. — Old, hoary, venerable: fides, of ancient times, V.: senectus, Ct.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *kaznos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱeh₂s- (“bright grey”) (compare Welsh cannu (“to whiten”), ceinach (“hare”), English hare, Latin cascus (“old”), Ancient Greek ξανθός (xanthós, “yellow”), Old Prussian sasnis (“hare”), Pashto خړ (xëṛ, “grey”), Sanskrit शश (śaśa, “hare”)).
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesecãofrom Old Galician-Portuguese cão
- Spanishcanofrom Old Spanish cano
- Asturiancanu
- GalicianCaofrom Old Galician-Portuguese cão
- Galiciancanofrom Old Spanish cano
Insular Romance
- Sardiniancanu
Italo-Romance
- Italiancano