LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

costa

costa f (genitive costae)
Classical[ˈkɔs.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈkɔs.ta]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininea rib
  2. femininea side, a wall
    costae naviumthe sides of ships
    costae ahenithe sides of a cauldron

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

os lateris; costae pectus claudunt et cor custōdiunt.
costa -ae f — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecostacostae
genitivecostaecostārum
dativecostaecostīs
accusativecostamcostās
ablativecostācostīs
vocativecostacostae

costa, ae, f.,
I. a rib, Cels. 8, 1; Plin. 11, 37, 82, § 207; Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 4; Lucr. 5, 1297; Verg. G. 1, 273; id. A. 1, 211; Ov. H. 9, 111; Stat. Th. 2, 9; Mart. 9, 48, 10.—
II. Transf., a side, a wall: aheni, Verg. A. 7, 463: ratis, Pers. 6, 31; cf. navium, Plin. 13, 9, 19, § 63: corbium, id. 16, 18, 30, § 75.— Absol., Verg. A. 2, 16 al.

Origins

Of uncertain origin. The term is traditionally compared with Old Church Slavonic кость (kostĭ). For instance, Derksen considers their kinship to be "quite possible." However, the connection is complicated if the Proto-Slavic term is derived from a pre-form *Host-, as such a term would not produce the Latin word. For this reason, De Vaan rejects the connection between the Slavic and Latin terms.

Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesecostafrom Old Galician-Portuguese costa
  • Spanishcuesta
  • Englishcuestafrom Spanish cuesta
  • Aragonesecuesta
  • Aragonesecuasta
  • Asturiancuesta
  • Galiciancostafrom Old Galician-Portuguese costa
Elsewhere
  • Englishcosta
  • Portuguesecosta
  • Spanishcosta
  • Aragonesecosta
  • Asturiancosta
  • Galiciancosta
  • Old Frenchcoste
  • Romanshcosta
Insular Romance
  • Sardiniancolta
  • Sardiniancosta
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiancosta
  • Italiancoscafrom Sicilian costa
  • Dalmatiancuasta
  • Neapolitancosta
  • Venetancosta
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalancosta
  • Occitancòsta
Balkano-Romance
  • Romaniancoastă
  • Aromaniancoastã
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliancueste

Quick answers

What does costa mean in Latin?
costa, a noun, means “a rib; a side, a wall”.
What is the genitive of costa?
The genitive singular is costae. costa is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce costa?
In classical Latin, [ˈkɔs.ta]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkɔs.ta].