adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
castus1
castus (feminine casta, neuter castum, comparative castior, superlative castissimus, adverb castē)
Classical[ˈkas.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkas.tus]
№ 838 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivemorally pure, guiltless, spotless
- adjectiveespecially in regard to sexual morality: pure, chaste, unpolluted, virtuous, continent
casta quidem, sed nōn et crēdita: rūmor inīquus
Chaste, [she was] indeed, and yet had not been believed [to be so]: unjust slander had wronged her, and she was charged on a false accusation. (See Claudia Quinta.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.307–308 - adjectivepure, free from barbarisms
- adjectivein a religious context: religious, pious, holy, sacred
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
pūrus, sine vitiō; fēmina casta ignem sacrum cūrat.castus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Aula Rēgia
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | castus | casta | castum |
| genitive | castī | castae | castī |
| dative | castō | castae | castō |
| accusative | castum | castam | castum |
| ablative | castō | castā | castō |
| vocative | caste | casta | castum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | castī | castae | casta |
| genitive | castōrum | castārum | castōrum |
| dative | castīs | castīs | castīs |
| accusative | castōs | castās | casta |
| ablative | castīs | castīs | castīs |
| vocative | castī | castae | casta |
Lewis & Short A Latin Dictionary, 1879
castus, a, um, adj. i. e. cas-tus, partic., kindr. to Sanscr. çludh, to cleanse; Gr. καθ-αρός; Germ. keusch, heiter; cf. the opp. in-ces-tus, impure, Bopp, Gloss. 351, 6; Pott. 1, 252.
I. In gen., morally pure, unpolluted, spotless, guiltless, = purus, integer (gen. in respect to the person himself, while candidus signifies pure, just, in respect to other men; v. Doed. Syn. p. 196 sq.;
class. in prose and poetry): castus animus purusque, Cic. Div. 1, 53, 121; cf.: vita purissima et castissima, id. Rosc. Com. 6, 17; and: quis hoc adulescente castior? quis modestior? quis autem illo qui maledicit impurior? id. Phil. 3, 6, 15: perjurum castus (fraudasse dicatur), id. Rosc. Com. 7, 21: castissimum quoque hominem ad peccandum potuisse impellere, id. Inv. 2, 11, 36: nulli fas casto sceleratum insistere limen, Verg. A. 6, 563: populus Et frugi castusque verecundusque, Hor. A. P. 207: qui (animi) se integros castosque servavissent, Cic. Tusc. 1, 30, 72; cf. id. Font. 10, 22; id. Cael. 18, 42: M. Crassi castissima domus, id. ib. 4, 9: signa, signs, indications of innocence, Ov. M. 7, 725: fides, inviolable, Sil. 13, 285: Saguntum, id. 3, 1.—With ab: decet nos esse a culpā castos, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 23; so, res familiaris casta a cruore civili, Cic. Phil. 13, 4, 8.—II. In respect to particular virtues.
A. Most freq., esp. in poetry, in regard to sexual morality, pure, chaste, unpolluted, virtuous, continent:
Latona, Enn. Trag. 424 Vahl.; cf. Minerva, Hor. C. 3, 3, 23; Cat. 16, 5; 62, 23; Tib. 1, 3, 83; Ov. M. 2, 544; 2, 711: hostia = Iphigenia, Lucr. 1, 98: Bellerophon, Hor. C. 3, 7, 15: matres, Verg. A. 8, 665: maritae, Ov. F. 2, 139.— With ab: castus ab rebus venereis, Col. 9, 14, 3.—Of inanimate things: lectulus, Cat. 64, 87: cubile, id. 66, 83: flos virginis, id. 62, 46: gremium, id. 65, 20: vultus, Ov. M. 4, 799: domus, Cat. 64, 385; Hor. C. 4, 5, 21 al.—b. Trop., of style, free from barbarisms, pure:
Caius Caesar sermonis praeter alios suae aetatis castissimi, Gell. 19, 8, 3.— B. In a religious respect, pious, religious, holy, sacred, = pius:
hac casti maneant in religione nepotes, Verg. A. 3, 409 Wagn.— So, Aeneas (for which elsewhere pius in Verg.), Hor. C. S. 42: sacerdotes, Verg. A. 6, 661: et sanctus princeps, Plin. Pan. 1, 3: ego qui castam contionem, sanctum campum defendo (in respect to the preceding: in Campo Martio, comitiis centuriatis auspicato in loco), Cic. Rab. Perd. 4, 11.—Of things: sacrae, religiosae castaeque res, Varr. ap. Non. p. 267, 8: haud satis castum donum deo, Cic. Leg. 2, 18, 45; cf. festa, Ov. Am. 3, 13, 3: taedae, Verg. A. 7, 71 Serv.: ara castis Vincta verbenis, Hor. C. 4, 11, 6: crines, Ov. M. 15, 675: laurus, Tib. 3, 4, 23: castior amnis (sc. Musarum), Stat. S. 4, 7, 12; cf.: castum flumen (on account of the nymphs), Claud. III. Cons. Stil. 260: luci, Hor. C. 1, 12, 59: nemus, Tac. G. 40: pura castaque mens, Plin. Pan. 3 fin.: casta mola genus sacrificii, quod Vestales virgines faciebant, Paul. ex Fest. p. 65 Müll.—As epith. ornans of poetry, since it is used in defence of the Deity: casta poesis, Varr. ap. Non. p. 267, 14 (it is erroneously explained by Non. by suavis, jucundus).—2. Hence, subst.: castum, i, n., a festival, or period of time consecrated to a god, during which strict continence was enjoined, Fest. p. 124, 25 Müll.:
Isidis et Cybeles, Tert. Jejun. 16.—C. In respect to the property and rights of others, free from, abstinent, disinterested: manus, Varr. ap. Non. p. 267, 12:
homo castus ac non cupidus, Cic. Sest. 43, 93: castissimus homo atque integerrimus, id. Fl. 28, 68.—Adv.: castē. A. (Acc. to I.) Purely, spotlessly, without stain, uprightly:
agere aetatem suam, Plaut. Trin. 2, 4, 149: et integre vivere, Cic. Fin. 4, 23, 63; id. Imp. Pomp. 1, 2.—B. (Acc. to II. A.) Chastely, virtuously: caste se habere a servis, C. Gracch. ap. Gell. 15, 12, 3:
tueri eloquentiam ut adultam virginem, Cic. Brut. 95, 330.—Of language, properly, correctly, classically: caste pureque linguā Latinā uti, Gell. 17, 2, 7.—2. (Acc. to II. B.) Piously, religiously:
placare deos, Ov. P. 2, 1, 33; cf. Cic. N. D. 1, 2, 3; Suet. Aug. 6.—Comp., Liv. 10, 7, 5.—Sup., Cic. Fam. 14, 4, 1.Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*ḱes-der.?
- Proto-Italic*kastos
- Latincastus
Verbal adjective from the same root of careō (“to lack”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to cut”). Compare the meanings of pūrus/putus and derived putō. Related to Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌔𐌕𐌂𐌄 (castce).
Elsewhere
- Italiancasto
- Catalancast
- Occitancast
- Spanishcastofrom Old Spanish casto
- Romaniancast
- Friuliancast
- Asturiancastu
- Old Frenchchaste
Old Galician-Portuguese
- Portuguesecasto
- Galiciancasto