LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

chaos1

chaos n sg (genitive chaī)
Classical[ˈkʰa.ɔs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaː.os]

Meaning

  1. neutersingularalternative letter-case form of Chaos
  2. neutersingulara chasm
    et in his omnibus inter nos et vos chaos magnum firmatum est ut hi qui volunt hinc transire ad vos, non possint, neque inde huc transmeare.And besides all this, between us and you, there is fixed a great chaos: so that they who would pass from hence to you, cannot, nor from thence come hither.Late 4th century, Jerome [et al.], transl., edited by Roger Gryson, Biblia Sacra: Iuxta Vulgatam Versionem (Vulgate), 5th edition, Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, published 2007, →ISBN, Lucam 16:26:

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativechaos—
genitivechaīChaōrum
dativechaō—
accusativechaos—
ablativechaō—
vocativechaos—

Chăŏs or Chăus, abl. Chao (other cases not used in the class. per.;
I. gen. Chaï, Serv. ad Verg. A. 1, 664; dat. Chaï, Prisc. p. 720 P.), n., = Χάος.
I. The boundless, empty space; as the kingdom of darkness, the Lower World: ingens, Ov. M. 10, 30; 14, 404; id. Ib. 84: inane, id. F. 4, 600: caecum, Sen. Med. 741; Stat. Th. 12, 772; Val. Fl. 7, 402; impersonated, masc., god of the Lower World, father of Erebos and Nox, Verg. A. 4, 510 (acc. Chaos); 6, 265; Quint. 3, 7, 8; cf.: Janus... edidit hos sonos; me Chaos antiqui, nam sum res prisca, vocabant, Ov. F. 1, 103.—
B. Hence also, immeasurable darkness, deep obscurity: Cimmerium, Stat. S. 3, 2, 92: horridum, Prud. Cath. 5, 3.—
II. The confused, formless, primitive mass out of which the universe was made, chaos, Ov. M. 1, 7; 2, 299; Lact. 1, 5, 8; 2, 8, 8: a Chao, since the creation of the world, Verg. G. 4, 347.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos) Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)bor. Latin chaos Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Descendants
  • Frenchchaos
  • Italiancaos
  • Italiancaosse
  • Italiancao
  • Portuguesecaos
  • Romanianhaos
  • Romaniancaos
  • Spanishcaos
proper noun · neutersecond declension
Chaos2
Chaos n sg (genitive Chaī)
Classical[ˈkʰa.ɔs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaː.os]

Meaning

  1. neutersingularthe shapeless primordial universe
    Ante mare et terrās et quod tegit omnia caelum ūnus erat tōtō nātūrae vultus in orbe, quem dīxēre chaos: rudis indīgestaque mōlēs nec quicquam nisi pondus iners congestaque eōdemBefore the sea and the lands and the sky that covers over all things, there was one face of nature in the whole world, which they called chaos: a raw and unorganized mass, and nothing if not an inert weight and, gathered in the same place, the discordant seeds of things not well joined together.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.5–9
  2. neutersingularthe Underworld, Hell

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeChaos—
genitiveChaī—
dativeChaō—
accusativeChaos—
ablativeChaō—
vocativeChaos—

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂-der. Ancient Greek χαῦνος (khaûnos) Ancient Greek χάος (kháos)bor. Latin Chaos Borrowed from Ancient Greek χάος (kháos).

Descendants
  • Italiancaosse
  • Italiancao
  • Italiancaos
  • Spanishcaos
  • Piedmontesecàos

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

Biography & mythologyChaosChaos (Χάος), the vacant and infinite space which existed according to the ancient cosmogonies previous to the creation of the world (lles. Thmeog. 11…

Quick answers

What does chaos mean in Latin?
chaos, a noun, means “alternative letter-case form of Chaos; a chasm”.
What is the genitive of chaos?
The genitive singular is chaī. chaos is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce chaos?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʰa.ɔs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkaː.os].