LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

cēpa

cēpa f (genitive cēpae)
Classical[ˈkeː.pa]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃɛː.pa]

Meaning

  1. onion

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecēpacēpae
caepae, caepia
genitivecēpae
caepae, caepis
cēpārum
caepārum, caepium
dativecēpae
caepae, caepī
cēpīs
caepibus, caepīs
accusativecēpam
caepam
cēpās
caepās, caepia
ablativecēpā
caepī
cēpīs
caepibus, caepīs
vocativecēpacēpae
caepae, caepia

cēpa, v. caepa.

Origins

A borrowing from an unknown, possibly Anatolian source, cf. Hesychian Ancient Greek κάπια (kápia, “onions”) claimed for Ceryneia and the complex of Arabic قُبَّعَة (qubbaʕa, “bulbous hat”). Given the borrowing of Proto-Slavic *lukъ (“onion”), it is probable that the Italians at the date of their expansion also only knew ramsons, as a kind of ālium. At least it is known that spring onion was only introduced in the modern period from China, while the bulb onion is also Asiatic, such that ancient Africa knew the cultivated onion only in the north, by generic names like Egyptian ḥḏw, it having expanded beyond the Great Desert only by the Arabs under their name بَصَل (baṣal).

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanceba
  • Occitanceba
  • Old Frenchcive
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianceapă
  • Aromaniantseapã
  • Albanianqepë
Borrowings
  • Englishcepaceous
  • Old Englishciepe

In English words that came into English from cēpa

  • chivecēpa
  • cepaceouscēpa
  • cibolcepulla

Quick answers

What does cēpa mean in Latin?
cēpa, a noun, means “onion”.
What is the genitive of cēpa?
The genitive singular is cēpae. cēpa is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce cēpa?
In classical Latin, [ˈkeː.pa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃɛː.pa].
Which English words come from cēpa?
English words that go back to Latin cēpa include chive, cepaceous and cibol.