adverb
cōram1
cōram (not comparable)
Classical[ˈkoː.rãː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkɔː.ram]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- not comparablein person, face to face, personally
- not comparablepublicly, openly, by word of mouth
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
praesēns, ante oculōsface to face
cōram — in De Bello Gallico I, ch. 16 and De Bello Gallico III, ch. 8
ante ōra, in cōnspectūcōram — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 4, 24
in cōnspectū, antecōram — in Evangelium secundum Marcum, ch. 3, 14
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- coram loqui (cum aliquo)
- to speak personally to...
- aliquem coram, in os or praesentem laudare
- to praise a man to his face.
cōram, adv. and prep. prob. kindred with ōs, ōris.
I. Object., in the presence of, before the eyes of, in the face of, before (freq. and class.).
A. Adv.:
vereor coram in os te laudare amplius, Ter. Ad. 2, 4, 5: omnia quae tute dudum coram me incusaveras, id. Phorm. 5, 8, 21: coram potius me praesente dixissent, Cic. Agr. 3, 1, 1: Manlius quoque ad restituendam aciem se ipse coram offert, i. e. before the soldiers, Liv. 2, 47, 4: ut veni coram, singultim pauca locutus, Hor. S. 1, 6, 56 et saep.: lenissimum genus admonitionis fuit traditio coram pugillarium, in their presence, in their own hands, Suet. Aug. 39.—b. With gen. (very rare):
coram noxae prehensus, in the very act, App. M. 9, p. 226 fin.—So in coram with gen. in App. = coram: omnium, App. M. 7, p. 197, 21 Oud.; so id. ib. 9, p. 221, 17; 9, p. 223, 32; 10, p. 241, 5.—2. Esp., with verbs of command, in one's presence, i. e. on the spot, forthwith (post-Aug.;
mostly in Suet.): clipeos et imagines ejus coram detrahi jubet, Suet. Dom. 23: Pinarium ... coram confodi imperavit, id. Aug. 27: essedum ... redimi concidique coram imperavit, id. Claud. 16 (al. explain coram in all these passages as = coram omnibus, i. e. publicly, openly; cf. palam).—Hence, coram deprehensus = ἐπʼ αὐτοφώρῳ, in the very act, App. M. 3, p. 131, 2.—B. Prep with abl.
(a). Before the noun:
coram genero meo quae dicere ausus es? Cic. Pis. 6, 12: coram frequentissimo legationum conventu, Nep. Epam. 6, 4; Quint. 6, 3, 47; Tac. A. 4, 75: coram judicibus, Suet. Aug. 56: coram ipso, id. Tib. 43; so id. ib. 62: coram populo, Hor. A. P. 185: coram latrone, Juv. 10, 22 al.—(b). After the noun (freq. in Tac.):
ipso Germanico coram, Tac. A. 3, 14; so id. ib. 3, 24; 4, 8; 13, 32; Suet. Ner. 33; id. Oth. 1: te coram, Hor. S. 1, 4, 95.—II. Subject. adv., present in one's own person or presence, personally (very freq. and class.):
quia ted ipsus coram praesens praesentem videt, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 43: istos rastros ... faoito coram ut tradas in manum, id. Merc. 2, 2, 7: sine me expurgem atque illum huc coram adducam, Ter. And. 5, 3, 29: velut si coram adesset, Caes. B. G. 1, 32; so, adesse, Verg. A. 1, 595: eadem fere, quae ex nuntiis litteris cognoverat, coram perspicit, Caes. B. G. 5, 11; so, opp. letters, Cic. Att. 1, 20, 1; 7, 3, 12; 12, 1, 2 al.; cf. with abl.: coram me tecum eadem haec agere saepe conantem deterruit pudor, quae nunc expromam absens audacius, by word of mouth, id. Fam. 5, 12. 1: coram cernere letum nati, Verg. A. 2, 538: quod coram etiam ex ipso audiebamus, Cic. Ac. 1, 4, 13: fidem nec dare nec accipere nisi cum ipso coram duce, Liv. 28, 17, 8; 28, 18, 7; 36, 11, 1; 43, 5, 6: rexque paterque Audisti coram, nec verbo parcius absens, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 38; Verg. A. 3, 173; Ov. M. 9, 560 et saep.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cōram adv. and praep.
com-+ōs.
I. I. Adv., in the presence, before the eyes, in the face, openly, face to face: coram in os te laudare, T.: coram me praesente dicere: se ipse coram offert, i. e. before the soldiers, L.: veni, H.: adgnoscere voltūs, V.—Present, in person, personally: illum huc adducam, T.: adesse, V.: fidem dare cum ipso coram duce, L.: audire, H.—
II. II. Praep. with abl, in the face of, before, in the presence of: genero dicere: coram amicis verba habere, S.: populo, H.: latrone, Iu.: te coram, H.: Germanico coram, Ta.
Origins
From a compound involving co- (“with”) and ōs, ōris (“mouth”). Perhaps from an intermediate Proto-Italic adjective *co-os-o-(s), with ending taken from clam. Compare palam. The ablative is from the PIE comitative-instrumental.