LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

captīvus1

captīvus (feminine captīva, neuter captīvum)
Classical[kapˈtiː.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[kapˈtiː.vus]

Meaning

  1. adjectivecaptive
  2. adjectivecaptured; imprisoned
  3. adjectiveof or pertaining to captive men, prisoners
    […]: mulis strata detrahi iubet binisque tantum centunculis relictis agasones partim captivis, partim aegrorum armis ornatos imponit.[…] : he orders the mules to be stripped off their saddles and, leaving them only some two small pieces of patchwork to be sat on, be mounted with their muleteers carrying weapons taken from either the prisoners or the sick.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7.14

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

bellō captus
captīvus -ī (m) — in Aeneis, ch. 5

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecaptīvuscaptīvacaptīvum
genitivecaptīvīcaptīvaecaptīvī
dativecaptīvōcaptīvaecaptīvō
accusativecaptīvumcaptīvamcaptīvum
ablativecaptīvōcaptīvācaptīvō
vocativecaptīvecaptīvacaptīvum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecaptīvīcaptīvaecaptīva
genitivecaptīvōrumcaptīvārumcaptīvōrum
dativecaptīvīscaptīvīscaptīvīs
accusativecaptīvōscaptīvāscaptīva
ablativecaptīvīscaptīvīscaptīvīs
vocativecaptīvīcaptīvaecaptīva

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

captivos sine pretio reddere
to restore prisoners without ransom.
captivos permutare, commutare
to exchange prisoners.
captivos redimere (Off. 2. 18)
to ransom prisoners.

captīvus, a, um, adj. captus, capio, II. A. 1..
I. Of living beings.
A. Of men, taken prisoner, captive.
1. In gen. (rare): urbs regi, captiva corpora Romanis cessere, Liv. 31, 46, 16; cf.: vix precibus, Neptune, tuis captiva resolvit Corpora, Ov. A. A. 2, 587: multitudo captiva servorum, Liv. 7, 27, 9: mancipia, id. 32, 26, 6: Tecmessa, Hor. C. 2, 4, 6: pubes, id. ib. 3, 5, 18: matres, Ov. M. 13, 560.—
2. Subst.: cap-tīvus, i, m., a captive in war, a captive, prisoner (freq. and class.), Cic. N. D. 3, 33, 82; id. Phil. 8, 11, 32; id. Tusc. 3, 22, 54; id. Off. 1, 12, 38; 1, 13, 39; id. Fam. 5, 11, 3; Caes. B. G. 1, 22; 1, 50; Nep. Hann. 7, 2; Quint. 5, 10, 115 al.; Verg. A. 9, 273; Hor. S. 1, 3, 89; id. Ep. 1, 16, 69; Ov. M. 13, 251; Juv. 7, 201.—
b. captīva, ae, f.: tristis captiva, Ov. Am. 1, 7, 39; id. M. 13, 471; Curt. 6, 2, 5; 8, 4, 26; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 2, 264. —
B. Transf., poet., that pertains or belongs to captives: sanguis, Verg. A. 10, 520: cruor, Tac. A. 14, 30: crines, Ov. Am. 1, 14, 45: lacerti, id. M. 13, 667: colla, id. P. 2, 1, 43: sitis, Mart. 11, 96, 4: bracchia, Sen. Herc. Oet. 109 al.—
C. Of animals, caught or taken: pisces, Ov. M. 13, 932: ferae, id. ib. 1, 475: vulpes, id. F. 4, 705: crocodili, Plin. 8, 25, 38, § 93: mullus, Mart. 10, 37 al.—
II. Of inanim. things, captured, plundered, taken as booty, spoiled, taken by force: naves, Caes. B. C. 2, 5; Liv. 26, 47, 3: navigia, id. 10, 2, 12: carpenta, id. 33, 23, 4: pecunia, id. 1, 53, 3; 10, 46, 6: aurum argentumque, id. 45, 40, 1: signa, id. 7, 37, 13: arma, id. 9, 40, 15: solum, id. 5, 30, 3: ager, id. 2, 48, 2; Tac. A. 12, 32: res, Plin. 33, 1, 3, § 7: vestis, Verg. A. 2, 765: portatur ebur, captiva Corinthus, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 193: currus, Verg. A. 7, 184: caelum, Ov. M. 1, 184 al.—
B. Trop.: captiva mens, i.e. by love, Ov. Am. 1, 2, 30.

Origins

From captus + -īvus.

Elsewhere
  • Englishcaptive
  • Englishcaitiff
  • Frenchcaptif
  • Frenchchétif
  • Italiancattivo
  • Catalancaptiufrom Old Occitan caitiu
  • Portuguesecativofrom Old Galician-Portuguese cativo
  • Romaniancaptiv
  • Spanishcativo
  • Spanishcaptivo
Padanian
  • Friuliancjâtif
  • Piedmontesecativ
  • Romagnolcativ

In English words that came into English from captīvus

  • captivecaptīvus
  • captivitycaptīvitās
  • captivatecaptīvātus
noun · masculinesecond declension
captīvus2
captīvus m (genitive captīvī, feminine captīva)
Classical[kapˈtiː.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[kapˈtiː.vus]

Meaning

  1. a captive, a prisoner

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecaptīvuscaptīvī
genitivecaptīvīcaptīvōrum
dativecaptīvōcaptīvīs
accusativecaptīvumcaptīvōs
ablativecaptīvōcaptīvīs
vocativecaptīvecaptīvī

Origins

From captus + -īvus.

Quick answers

What does captīvus mean in Latin?
captīvus, a adjective, means “captive; captured; imprisoned”.
How do you pronounce captīvus?
In classical Latin, [kapˈtiː.wʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [kapˈtiː.vus].
Which English words come from captīvus?
English words that go back to Latin captīvus include captive, captivity and captivate.