LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

cippus

cippus m (genitive cippī)
Classical[ˈkɪp.pʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃip.pus]

Meaning

  1. masculinestake, post
  2. masculinegravestone, tombstone
  3. masculinelandmark, boundary marker
  4. in pluralmasculinebulwark of sharpened stakes
  5. masculinemenhir

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

lignum breve in terrā
sharpened stake; marker post
cippus -ī (m) — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 19

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecippuscippī
cīpī
genitivecippī
cīpī		cippōrum
cīpōrum
dativecippō
cīpō		cippīs
cīpīs
accusativecippum
cīpum		cippōs
cīpōs
ablativecippō
cīpō		cippīs
cīpīs
vocativecippe
cīpe		cippī
cīpī

cippus (cīpus), i, m. kindr. with scipio; cf. σκήπτω,
I. a pale, stake, post, pillar, Lucil. ap. Fest. p. 258; and specif.,
I. A gravestone, tombstone, * Hor. S. 1, 8, 12; Pers. 1, 37; Prud. Apoth. 361; Inscr. Orell. 4524 al.—
II. In the Agrimensores, a landmark, boundary-stone or post, Simplic. ap. Goes. p. 88.—*
III. In milit. lang., cippi, ōrum, m., a bulwark formed of sharpened stakes, Caes. B. G. 7, 73.

Origins

Seemingly from a Proto-Italic *keipos (where Latin cīpus would be the older form), likely related to scīpiō, of unclear further origin. De Vaan derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱéypos (“pole, stick”), connecting it to Sanskrit शेप (śepa, “penis, tail”). However, the irregular alternation between the form with short ĭ and geminate pp versus that with long ī with singular p is difficult to explain; it could indicate contamination from another Italic dialect or borrowing from a substrate language, or it could be a normal Latin sound law seen also in littera from lītera. Not related to Latin scāpus, English shaft, Ancient Greek σκήπτω (skḗptō), despite some such suggestions.

Descendants
  • Catalancep
  • Frenchcèpe
  • Englishcepfrom French cèpe
  • Frenchcippe
  • Frenchcep
  • Frenchsep
  • Italiancippo
  • Italianceppo
  • Occitancep
  • Portuguesecipo

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesCippusCippus 1. Originally the trunk of a tree with its branches lopped off, left standing in the ground as a stump or sunk in it: in a wooden fortification…

Quick answers

What does cippus mean in Latin?
cippus, a noun, means “stake, post; gravestone, tombstone; landmark, boundary marker”.
What is the genitive of cippus?
The genitive singular is cippī. cippus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce cippus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɪp.pʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃip.pus].