noun · neutersecond declension
claustra
claustra n pl (genitive claustrōrum)
Classical[ˈkɫau̯s.tra]Ecclesiastical[ˈklau̯s.tra]
Meaning
- neuterpluralA lock, bar, bolt
- neuterpluralA gate, entrance
- neuterpluralA barricade, bulwark
- neuterpluralA hindrance
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Sera · Claustrum · Pessulus · Repagulum · Obex
Seræ and claustra are bolts; sera (seruisse, εἴρειν) a movable bolt, that is put on the door; claustrum, a bolt that is fastened to the door; whereas pessuli, repagula, and obices, are merely bars, which supply the place of bolts; pessulus (πάσσαλος) a smaller bar for the fores, Plaut. Aul. i. 2, 25. Ter. Heaut. ii. 3, 47; whereas repagulum (from πῆξαι), pangere, a greater bar for the valvæ, Cic. Verr. iv. 43. Plin. H. N. xvi. 42, and obex (from objicere) for the portæ, Tac. H. iii. 30. Ann. xiii. 39. (v. 292.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | — | claustra |
| genitive | — | claustrōrum clōstrōrum |
| dative | — | claustrīs clōstrīs |
| accusative | — | claustra |
| ablative | — | claustrīs clōstrīs |
| vocative | — | claustra |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- claustra portarum revellere
- to break down the gates.
claustra (clostra, Cato, R. R. 13, 3; 135, 2), ōrum, n. (in sing.: claustrum, i, rare, Caes. Germ. Arat. 197; Curt. 4, 5, 21; 7, 6, 13; Petr. 89, 2, 7; Gell. 14, 6, 3; Luc. 10, 509; App. M. 4, 10, p. 146 fin.; Amm. 23, 4, 6; 26, 8, 8: clostrum, Sen. Ben. 7, 21, 2) [clausum, claudo],
I. that by which any thing is shut up or closed, a lock, bar, bolt.
I. Prop.: claves, claustra, Varr. ap. Non. p. 545, 12:
claustra revellere, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 23, § 52; Liv. 5, 21, 10: januae pandere, * Cat. 61, 76: laxare, Verg. A. 2, 259: relaxare, Ov. Am. 1, 6, 17: rumpere, Verg. A. 9, 758: diu claustris retentae ferae, Liv. 42, 59, 2: ferae claustris fractae, Plin. Pan. 81, 3: claustra pati, to submit to confinement, Col. 8, 17, 8: discutere, Petr. 11, 2: reserare, Sil. 7, 334: portarum ingentia claustra, Verg. A. 7, 185; Val. Fl. 3, 53: ferrea, Mart. 10, 28, 8: sub signo claustrisque rei publicae positum vectigal, Cic. Agr. 1, 7, 21. —B. Trop., a bar, band, barrier, bounds:
arta portarum naturae effringere, i. e. to disclose its secrets, Lucr. 1, 72; cf.: tua claustra fregerunt tui versus, i. e. have become known, public, Plin. Ep. 2, 10, 3: pudoris et reverentiae refringere, id. ib. 2, 14, 4: vitaï claustra resolvere, to loose the bands of life, Lucr. 1, 416; 3, 397; 6, 1152: temporum, Vell. 1, 17, 4: (animus) amat spatiis obstantia rumpere claustra (the figure drawn from the bounds of a racecourse), Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 9.—II. In a more extended sense, a door or gate that shuts up any place, a dam, dike; meton., a place that is shut up:
urbis relinquant, Ov. M. 4, 86; cf. Thebarum, Stat. Th. 10, 474.—Of sunken ships, closing a port, Liv. 37, 14, 7; cf.: ubi demersis navibus frenassent claustra maris, id. 37, 15, 1: maris, i.e. a harbor, haven, Sil. 12, 442: undae, a dam, id. 5, 44; cf.: Lucrino addita, Verg. G. 2, 161; cf. id. A. 1, 56: Daedalea, i. e. the Labyrinth, Sen. Hippol. 1166 al.—B. In milit. lang., a barricade, bulwark, key, defence, fortress, wall, bank, etc., for warding off an enemy:
claustra loci, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 32, § 84: Corinthus in faucibus Graeciae, sic ut terra claustra locorum teneret, id. Agr. 2, 32, 87: Sutrium, quae urbs socia Romanis velut claustra Etruriae erat, Liv. 9, 32. 1: Aegypti, id. 45, 11, 5; Tac. H. 2, 82; Suet. Vesp. 7: tutissima praebet, Liv. 42. 67, 6; cf. id. 6, 9, 4; 44, 7, 9; Tac. A. 2, 61 al.: montium, id. H. 3, 2: Caspiarum, id. ib. 1, 6: maris, id. ib. 3, 43; cf. Sil. 12, 442; Tac. A. 2, 59: suis claustris (walls, intrenchments) impeditos turbant, id. ib. 12, 31; cf. id. ib. 4, 49: regni claustra Philae, Luc. 10, 312: Africae, Flor. 4, 2, 70.—C. Trop.:
cum ego claustra ista nobilitatis refregissem, ut aditus ad consulatum pateret, Cic. Mur. 8, 17: annonae Aegyptus, Tac. H. 3, 8.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
claustra ōrum, n
claudo, a lock, bar, bolt: revellere claustra: rumpere, V.: portarum, L.: sub claustris rei p. positum vectigal.—A barrier, bounds: obstantia rumpere claustra (the barriers of a race - course), H. — A gate, dam, dike: Lucrino addita, V.: portūs claustra, entrance, Cu.— A barricade, bulwark, key, defence, fortress, wall, bank: ut terra claustra locorum teneret: urbs velut claustra Etruriae, L.: montium, passes, Ta.: Aegypti, the key to Egypt, L.: claustra contrahere, i. e. the line of circumvallation, Ta. — A barrier, hinderance: ista nobilitatis.
Origins
From claudō (“to close, shut up”).
In English words that came into English from claustra
- claustrationclōstra