LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

cārus

cārus (feminine cāra, neuter cārum, comparative cārior, superlative cārissimus)
Classical[ˈkaː.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaː.rus]
№ 462 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectivedear, beloved
  2. adjectivecostly, expensive, valued

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī amātur; cāra māter; etiam magnī pretiī.
cārus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Caro · Pulpa · Viscera · Exta · Intestina · Ilia

1. Caro means flesh in its general sense, as a material substance, in opp. to fat, nerves, muscles, and so forth; pulpa, especially, eatable and savory flesh, in opp. to bones; viscera, all flesh, and every fleshy substance between the skin and the bones. 2. Viscera, in a narrower sense, means generally, the inner parts of the body; whereas exta means the inner parts of the upper part of the body, as the heart, lungs, and so forth; intestina, interanea, and ilia, the inner parts of the lower part of the body, namely, the entrails; and indeed intestina, and, in the age after Augustus, interanea, meant the guts as digestive organs; ilia, all that is contained in the lower part of the body, and particularly those parts that are serviceable. (v. 145.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecāruscāra
chāra
cārum
chārum
genitivecārī
chārī
cārae
chārae
cārī
chārī
dativecārō
chārō
cārae
chārae
cārō
chārō
accusativecārum
chārum
cāram
chāram
cārum
chārum
ablativecārō
chārō
cārā
chārā
cārō
chārō
vocativecāre
chāre
cāra
chāra
cārum
chārum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecārī
chārī
cārae
chārae
cāra
chāra
genitivecārōrum
chārōrum
cārārum
chārārum
cārōrum
chārōrum
dativecārīs
chārīs
cārīs
chārīs
cārīs
chārīs
accusativecārōs
chārōs
cārās
chārās
cāra
chāra
ablativecārīs
chārīs
cārīs
chārīs
cārīs
chārīs
vocativecārī
chārī
cārae
chārae
cāra
chāra

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

annona cara est
corn is dear.
carum esse alicui
to be dear to some one.
carum habere aliquem
to feel affection for a person.
carum atque iucundum esse alicui
to be dear to some one.

cārus (not chārus; in Inscrr. often kārus, Inscr. Orell. 1175; 2417 al.), a, um, adj. Sanscr. kan, to be beloved; kāru, agreeable,
I. dear, precious, valued, esteemed (pass., freq. and class. in prose and poetry; syn.: dilectus, amatus, acceptus, gratus; opp. vilis, neglectus, contemptus; carum esse; syn. diligi); act., loving, affectionate, Verg. A. 1, 646: carum ipsum verbum est amoris, ex quo amicitiae nomen est ductum, Cic. N. D. 1, 44, 122; id. Off. 2, 8, 29; id. Fin. 3, 20, 66; 5, 10, 29: ego illum scio, quam carus sit cordi meo, Plaut. Men. 2, 1, 21; id. Ep. 1, 2, 30: neque meo cordi esse quemquam cariorem, Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 121: ut dis inmortalibus cari simus et ab iis diligamur, Cic. Fin. 3, 20, 66: dis carus ipsis, Hor. C. 1, 31, 13: laeta pax cariores Sabinas viris fecit, Liv. 1, 13, 6: populo carus atque jucundus, Cic. Cat. 4, 6, 11: patriae, Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 29; Lucr. 1, 730: parentes, id. 3, 85: cari sunt parentes, cari liberi, propinqui, familiares: sed omnes omnium caritates patria una complexa est, Cic. Off. 1, 17, 57: mater carissima, Asin. ap. Quint. 9, 2, 34.—So pater, Verg. A. 2, 707; Ov. M. 2, 649: genitor, Verg. A. 10, 789; Ov. M. 1, 486: genitrix, Verg. A. 1, 689: nutrix, id. ib. 4, 634: conjux, Ov. M. 11, 727: Thisbe, id. ib. 4, 143: nata, id. ib. 4, 222: nepotes, Cat. 64, 381: pignora, nati, Ov. F. 3, 218; so also pignora, nepotes, id. M. 3, 134; cf.: caput nepotis, Cat. 68, 120: frater carissimus atque amantissimus, Cic. Cat. 4, 2, 3: homines mihi carissimi et amicissimi, id. de Or. 2, 4, 15: illa, quam Ego animo Egregie caram habuerim, Ter. And. 1, 5, 38; so, carum habere aliquem, Cic. Fam. 1, 7, 11 fin. (with amare); id. Balb. 26, 59 (with diligere): omnis suos caros habet, me quidem se ipso cariorem, id. Att. 10, 11, 1: parentes carissimos habere, id. Red. Sen. 1, 2; Nep. Att. 10, 5; Quint. 5, 10, 74: ex decessu carissimorum, Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 7, 1: omnium societatum nulla est carior, Cic. Off. 1, 17, 57: patria, Hor. S. 2, 2, 104: Athenae, Cat. 64, 81: carmina legenti, Prop. 3 (4), 2, 13. crines, id. 1, 17, 21: simulacra, Ov. M. 14, 112: amplexus, id. ib. 9, 750 et saep.—Prov. uses: patria mihi vită meă multo est carior, Cic. Cat. 1, 11, 27; so id. Sest. 20, 45; cf. Cat. 68, 159: carius oculis, id. 82, 2; 104, 2; Ov. M. 7, 847 al.—Subst.: cāri mei, my loved ones, Plaut. Men. 1, 1, 29 al.—In a double sense with II., Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 76 sq.; id. Men. 1, 1, 29 sq.; cf.: hoc est gratum nobisque est carius auro, Cat. 107, 3.—
II. Prop. (opp. vilis), dear, costly, of a high price: venio ad macellum, rogito pisces: indicant Caros, agninam caram, caram bubulam, cara omnia, Plaut. Aul. 2, 8, 3 sq.: quod ei amorem Carissimum... eum confeci sine sumptu, Ter. Eun. 5, 4, 5: quom cara annona sit, Plaut. Capt. 3, 1, 35: coquos carissimus, id. Ps. 3, 2, 59.—So annona, Plaut. Stich. 1, 3, 25; Ter. And. 4, 4, 7; (comp.) Cic. Div. 2, 27, 59; (sup.) id. Dom. 6, 14 et saep.: aurum argentumque caelando carius fecimus (cf. just before: auximus pretia rerum), Plin. 33, praef. 2, § 4; cf.: cariora pretia facere, Just. 16, 4, 19.—With abl. pretii: quod non opus est, asse carum est. Cato ap. Sen. Ep. 94, 28; so, trecentis, Plaut. Pers. 4, 4, 118.—Adv. (rare).
A. cārē.
1. Dearly, at a high price: vēnire, Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 2; comp., Cic. Dom. 44, 115; Suet. Calig. 27; sup., Sen. Ep. 42, 5.—
2. Highly: carius aestimare, Plancus ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 4, 2.—
B. cārō (acc. to II.), dearly, at a high price, Dig. 19, 1, 13, § 3.
Cārus, i,
I. a Roman cognomen.
I. T. Lucretius Carus, the poet; v. Lucretius.—
II. M. Aurelius Carus, the Roman emperor, Eutr. 9, 12 al.—
III. Another poet, Ov P. 4, 16, 7.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *kāros, from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ros, from *keh₂- (“to desire, to wish”). Cognate to Sanskrit चारु (cā́ru, “dear, beloved; elegant; esteemed; lovely”).

Western Romance
  • Catalancar
  • Occitancar
  • Occitancare
  • Portuguesecarofrom Old Galician-Portuguese caro
  • Spanishcaro
  • Emilianchèr
  • Friuliancjâr
  • Liguriancâo
  • Liguriancâro
  • Liguriancâio
Central Romance
  • Italiancaro
  • unknowncur
  • Siciliancaru
Southern Romance
  • African Romancecarus
Elsewhere
  • Icelandickærfrom Old Norse kærr
  • Faroesekærurfrom Old Norse kærr
  • Nornkårrfrom Old Norse kærr
  • Norwegiankjærfrom Old Norse kærr
  • Swedishkärfrom Old Norse kærr
  • Danishkærfrom Old Norse kærr

Quick answers

What does cārus mean in Latin?
cārus, a adjective, means “dear, beloved; costly, expensive, valued”.
How do you pronounce cārus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkaː.rʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkaː.rus].