LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

cervīx

cervīx f (genitive cervīcis)
Classical[ˈkɛr.wiːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃɛr.viks]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neck, nape, throat
    apta iugō cervīx nōn est feriendā secūrī:The neck suitable for the yoke should not be struck by the axe: may it live long and labor often in the hard soil. (Agriculture dawns as Ceres teaches humans to yoke oxen to the plow and instead use other animals for sacrificial rites. See Ceres (mythology).)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.415–416
    levis odorato cervix manabit olivoYour smooth throat glistening with scented oil the flowing robe will brush your naked feet.30 BCE – 16 BCE, Propertius, Elegiae 3.17–18
  2. figurativelygreat burden, danger (from the figure taken from bearing the yoke)
  3. figurativelyboldness, headstrong behavior
  4. (of an object) neck

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pars corporis inter caput et umerōs; vinctus cervīcem ad pectus vertit.
cervīx -īcis f — in Mille Verba, Aula Rēgia
inter caput et umerōs
cervīx -īcis (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 10, 17

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecervīxcervīcēs
genitivecervīciscervīcum
dativecervīcīcervīcibus
accusativecervīcemcervīcēs
ablativecervīcecervīcibus
vocativecervīxcervīcēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

gladius cervicibus impendet
a sword hangs over his neck.
hostis in cervicibus alicuius est
the foe is at our heels, is upon us.
iugum servile a cervicibus deicere (Phil. 1. 2. 6)
to shake off the yoke of slavery.
cervices (in Cic. only in plur.) frangere alicui or alicuius
to break a person's neck.

cervix, īcis (
I. gen. plur. cervicum, Cic. Or. 18, 59; Plin. 23, 2, 33, § 68: cervicium, acc. to Charis. p. 100), f. cer-vix; cf. Sanscr. s)iras, caput, and vincio, Bopp, Gloss. 348 b, the neck, including the back of the neck, the nape (in ante-Aug. prose usu. in plur.; so always in Cic. and Sall.; acc. to Varr. L. L. 8, § 14; 10, § 78 Müll.; and Quint. 8, 3, 35, Hortensius first used the sing.; it is, however, found even in Ennius and Pacuvius; v. the foll.).
1. Sing.: caput a cervice revolsum, Enn. ap. Serv. ad Verg. A. 10, 396: quadrupes capite brevi, cervice anguinā, Pac. ap. Cic. Div. 2, 64, 133; Lucr. 1, 36; 6, 745; * Cat. 62, 83; * Tib. 3, 4, 27; Prop. 3 (4), 17, 31; Verg. G. 3, 52; 3, 524; 4, 523; id. A. 1, 402; 2, 707; 10, 137; Hor. C. 1, 13, 2; 2, 5, 2; Liv. 8, 7, 21; 22, 51, 7 Fabri ad loc.; 26, 13, 18; 27, 49, 1; 31, 34, 4; 35, 11, 8; Vell. 2, 4, 5; Hortens. ap. Varr. l. l., and Quint. l. l.; id. 1, 11, 9; 11, 3, 82; 11, 3, 83; 4, 2, 39 Spald.; Plin. 11, 37, 67, § 177.—
2. Plur.: eversae cervices tuae, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 131 (cf. versa, Ov. H. 16, 231): ut gladius impenderet illius beati cervicibus, Cic. Tusc. 5, 21, 62; id. N. D. 1, 35, 99; 2, 63, 159: aliquo praesidio caput et cervices et jugulum tutari, id. Sest. 42, 90: frangere, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 42, § 110; 2, 5, 57, § 147; cf. id. Phil. 11, 2, 5; Hor. C. 2, 13, 6: cervices crassae longae, Varr. R. R. 2, 5, 8; 2, 9, 4: altae, Verg. A. 2, 219: tumor cervicum, Plin. 23, 2, 33, § 68; Suet. Galb. 11; id. Vit. 17.—Esp. in several proverbial expressions, as the vital part of a person: cervices securi subicere, Cic. Phil. 2, 21, 51; cf.: offerre cervicem percussoribus, Tac. A. 1, 53: cervices Roscio dare, i. e. to the executioner, Cic. Rosc. Am. 11, 30: praebere cervicem gladio, Juv. 10, 345. —
B. Trop.
1. (The figure taken from bearing the yoke; cf. Liv. 9, 6, 12.) Imposuistis in cervicibus nostris sempiternum dominum, Cic. N. D. 1, 20, 54; cf. Liv. 42, 50, 6: qui suis cervicibus tanta munia atque rem publicam sustinent, Cic. Sest. 66, 138; so Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 42, § 108; id. Mil. 28, 77. —Hence, of any great burden or danger: dandae cervice erant crudelitati nefariae, to submit to, Cic. Phil. 5, 16, 42: a cervicibus nostris avertere Antonium, id. Ep. ad Brut. 1, 15, 7; id. Phil. 3, 4, 8: non facile hanc tantam molem mali a cervicibus vestris depulissem, id. Cat. 3, 7, 17: legiones in cervicibus nostris conlocare, id. Fam. 12, 23, 2: in cervicibus alicujus esse, of too great or dangerous proximity: cum in cervicibus sumus (opp. cum procul abessemus), Liv. 44, 39, 7: etsi bellum ingens in cervicibus erat, on hand, as an oppressive burden, id. 22, 33, 6: sed nec Romani, tametsi Poeni et Hannibal in cervicibus erant, Just. 29, 4, 7; cf.: rex ratus eam urbem... suis inpositam esse cervicibus, Curt. 7, 7, 1.—
2. For boldness: qui tantis erunt cervicibus recuperatores, qui audeant, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 59, § 135.—
II. Transf., of things, the neck: amphorae, Petr. 34, 6; Mart. 12, 32: fistularum, Vitr. 10, 13: cupressi, Stat. Th. 6, 855; cf. Col. 4, 7, 3: Peloponnesi, i.e. Isthmus, Plin. 4, 3, 4, § 8; cf. id. 6, 29, 34, § 170.

Origins

According to one hypothesis, from Proto-Italic *kerweiks, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂(s)weyk-s, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱerh₂-(s-) (“the head”) (compare cerebrum) and *weyk- (“to curve, bend”) (compare vinciō), literally “where the head turns”. De Vaan rejects this etymology, calling it "semantically very doubtful". For the hypothesized sense development, compare Proto-Slavic *vortъ (“neck”) from Proto-Slavic *vortiti (“to turn, return”), from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn, rotate”); Proto-Slavic *kъrkъ (“neck”) (<< Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to turn, bend”)). Also compare collum.

Borrowings
  • Catalancèrvix
  • Englishcervix
  • Frenchcervix
  • GermanCervix
  • GermanZervix
  • Portuguesecérvice
  • Portuguesecérvix
  • Romaniancervix
  • Spanishcérvix
  • Dutchcervix
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesecerviz
  • Spanishcervizfrom Old Spanish ceruiz
Balkano-Romance
  • Romaniancerbice
Italo-Romance
  • Italiancervice
  • Siciliancirbici
Gallo-Romance
  • Old Catalanserviu
  • Middle Frenchcevichfrom Old French cerviz
  • Old Occitancervitz
  • Old Occitancervigal

Quick answers

What does cervīx mean in Latin?
cervīx, a noun, means “neck, nape, throat; great burden, danger (from the figure taken from bearing the yoke); boldness, headstrong behavior”.
What is the genitive of cervīx?
The genitive singular is cervīcis. cervīx is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce cervīx?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɛr.wiːks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃɛr.viks].