LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

cōnū̆bium

cōnū̆bium n (genitive cōnū̆biī or cōnū̆bī)
Classical[koːˈnuː.bi.ũː]Ecclesiastical[koˈnuː.bi.um]

Meaning

  1. marriage, wedlock
    pe͞r cōnūbĭă no͞stră, pĕr i͞nce͞ptōs hy̆mĕna͞eōsby our marriage, by the nuptials that have been started29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.316
  2. in pluralceremony of marriage
  3. poeticsexual union; confer coniugium
  4. an engrafting

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecōnū̆biumcōnū̆bia
connū̆bia
genitivecōnū̆biī
cōnū̆bī, connū̆bī, connū̆biī		cōnū̆biōrum
connū̆biōrum
dativecōnū̆biō
connū̆biō		cōnū̆biīs
connū̆biīs
accusativecōnū̆biumcōnū̆bia
connū̆bia
ablativecōnū̆biō
connū̆biō		cōnū̆biīs
connū̆biīs
vocativecōnū̆biumcōnū̆bia
connū̆bia

cōnūbĭum (less correctly connū-bĭum; cf. Rib. prol. Verg. p. 393), ii (m the poets often trisyl., thus:
I. conubio, Verg. A. 1, 73; 4, 126; 7, 253; Ov. M. 6, 428: conubia, Lucr. 3, 777: conubiis, Verg. A. 3, 136; 4, 168; v. Wagn. and Forbig. ad Verg. A. 1, 73; and cf. conubialis), n. nubo, marriage, wedlock (considered as a civil institution; while conjugium had regard to the physical union, cf. Dict. of. Antiq.).
I. Prop. (very freq. in prose and poetry), Cic. de Or. 1, 9, 37; id. Off. 1, 17, 54; Sall. J. 18, 6; Liv. 4, 5, 6; 4, 6, 2 sq.; Cat. 62, 57; 64, 141; Verg. A. 1, 73; 3, 136; v. the passages cited, init., from Verg. and Ov.—Plur., of a single marriage (poet.): Pyrrhin' conubia servas? Verg. A. 3, 319; Val. Fl. 8, 421.—
II. Meton.
A. = jus conubii or conubii societas, the right to intermarry, according to Roman principles: conubia illi (sc. decemviri) ut ne plebi et patribus essent, inhumanissimā lege sanxerunt, quae postea plebei scito Canulejo abrogatast, Cic. Rep. 2, 37, 63; cf. Liv. 4, 1, 1 sq.; 8, 14, 10; 9, 43, 23 and 24; Curt. 8, 4, 25; cf. Gai Inst. 1, § 55 sq. al.—
B. Poet., sexual union (cf. conjugium, II. B. 1.), Lucr. 3, 777; 5, 1011; Ov. Am. 2, 7, 21.—*
C. Of plants, an ingrafting, Plin. 16, pr. § 1.

Origins

Equivalent to con- + nūbō (“to marry”) + -ium. Per De Vaan, the cō-n- (found also in other words that are on the surface composed of con- + a stem starting with n-) has been explained as a development from previous *com-sn-. Weiss reconstructs the word as going back to an original form *kon-snoubii̯om. It is not simple to determine the usual length of the vowel in the second syllable using poetic evidence (see below). Long ū would be the regular outcome of a diphthong derived from the e- or o-grade of the Proto-Indo-European root (and would get analogical support from the long ū in nūbō); on the other hand, the related words prōnuba and innuba can be cited to support the possibility of a pronunciation with short /u/, which would come from the zero grade of the Proto-Indo-European root.

Descendants
  • Italianconnubio
  • Spanishconubio

Quick answers

What does cōnū̆bium mean in Latin?
cōnū̆bium, a noun, means “marriage, wedlock; ceremony of marriage; sexual union”.
What is the genitive of cōnū̆bium?
The genitive singular is cōnū̆biī. cōnū̆bium is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce cōnū̆bium?
In classical Latin, [koːˈnuː.bi.ũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [koˈnuː.bi.um].