LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

crassus1

crassus (feminine crassa, neuter crassum, comparative crassior, superlative crassissimus)
Classical[ˈkras.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkras.sus]

Meaning

  1. adjectivedense, thick, solid
  2. adjectivefat, gross, plump
    aquae crassaedeep waters, swollen waters
    fīlum crassuma thick thread
  3. adjectiveconcentrated, thick; turgid
  4. adjectiveheavy, thick, dense; murky
  5. adjectivefigurativelycrass, stupid, dull, stolid

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecrassuscrassa
grassa		crassum
grassum
genitivecrassī
grassī		crassae
grassae		crassī
grassī
dativecrassō
grassō		crassae
grassae		crassō
grassō
accusativecrassum
grassum		crassam
grassam		crassum
grassum
ablativecrassō
grassō		crassā
grassā		crassō
grassō
vocativecrasse
grasse		crassa
grassa		crassum
grassum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativecrassī
grassī		crassae
grassae		crassa
grassa
genitivecrassōrum
grassōrum		crassārum
grassārum		crassōrum
grassōrum
dativecrassīs
grassīs		crassīs
grassīs		crassīs
grassīs
accusativecrassōs
grassōs		crassās
grassās		crassa
grassa
ablativecrassīs
grassīs		crassīs
grassīs		crassīs
grassīs
vocativecrassī
grassī		crassae
grassae		crassa
grassa

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

crassa or pingui Minerva (proverb.)
with no intelligence or skill.

crassus, a, um, adj. Sanscr. kart-, to spin; cf.: crates, cartilago, etc.; as opp. to flowing, thin, lean, delicate, etc.,
I. solid, thick, dense, fat, gross, etc. (freq. and class. in prose and poetry).
I. Lit.: semina (opp. liquida), Lucr. 4, 1259; cf.: crassius semen, id. 4, 1244: corpus, id. 6, 857: unguentum, Hor. A. P. 375: paludes, Verg. G. 2, 110: cruor, id. A. 5, 469: aquae, greatly swollen, Ov. Am. 3, 6, 8: ager, Varr. R. R. 1, 24, 1; Cic. Fl. 29, 71; cf.: terga (agri), Verg. G. 2, 236: homo, Ter. Hec. 3, 4, 26: turdi, Mart. 2, 40: toga, Hor. S. 1, 3, 15; cf. filum, Cic. Fam. 9, 12, 2; Ov. H. 9, 77: restis, Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 38: digiti crassi tres, as a measure, Cato, R. R. 40, 4.—
B. Esp., of the atmosphere, thick, dense, heavy: aër crassus et concretus, Cic. Tusc. 1, 18, 42; cf.: crassissimus aër, id. N. D. 2, 6, 17: caelum Thebis (opp. tenue Athenis), id. Fat. 4, 7: Baeotum in crasso jurares aëre natum, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 244; Juv. 10, 50: caligo nubis, Lucr. 6, 461; cf.: caliginis aër Crassior, id. 4, 350 al.: vitrum crassiore visu, less transparent, Plin. 36, 26, 67, § 196.—
II. Trop. (rare; not in Cic.): crassum infortunium, i. e. a sound beating, Plaut. Rud. 3, 5, 53: senes, stupid, dull, Varr. ap. Non. p. 86, 24: Ofellus Rusticus abnormis sapiens crassāque Minervā, i. e. dull, stolid, Hor. S. 2, 2, 3; cf.: crassiore ut vocant Musa, Quint. 1, 10, 28: turba, uncultivated, Mart. 9, 23: neglegentia, stupid, clumsy, Dig. 22, 6, 6: crassiora nomina, more rude or barbarous, Mart. 12, 18, 12; cf. Gell. 13, 20, 15.—Hence, adv.: crassē (rare; not in Cic.), thickly.
1. Lit.: picare vasa, Col. 12, 44, 5; cf. oblinere, Scrib. Comp. 46.—
2. Grossly, rudely: crasse illepideve compositum poëma (the figure taken from a coarse web), Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 76.—Of precious stones, not clearly, dimly (comp.), Plin. 37, 7, 31, § 106; 37, 8, 36, § 114.—Hence of the indistinct understanding of any thing, not clearly, confusedly: crasse et summatim et obscure intellegere aliquid, Sen. Ep. 121, 11.

Origins

Uncertain; suggested to be from Proto-Indo-European *kert- (“to wind”), and compared to crātis (“wickerwork”), however this is semantically doubtful. Possibly connected to grossus (“coarse; thick”), also of unknown origin.

Elsewhere
  • Catalancras
  • Germankrass
  • Italiancrasso
  • Portuguesecrasso
  • Romaniancras
  • Spanishcraso
  • Old Frenchcras
  • Hunsrikkrass
  • Vulgar Latin*crassia
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalangreix
  • Occitangrais
  • Franco-Provençalgrâs
  • Old Frenchgras
  • Gascongrèishfrom Occitan grais
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesegraxo
  • Spanishgraso
  • Aragonesegraixo
  • Galiciangraxo
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianrassu
Balkano-Romance
  • Romaniangras
  • Aromaniangras
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiangrasso
  • Sicilianrassu
  • Siciliangrassu
  • Venetangraso
  • Venetangras
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliangras
Gallo-Italic
  • Lombardgrass
  • Romagnolgras
  • Piedmontesegrass

In English words that came into English from crassus

  • grease*crassia
  • crasscrassus
  • grampuscraspicis
  • creeshcrassus
  • crassitudecrassitūdō
  • crassamentumcrassus
proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Crassus2
Crassus m (genitive Crassī)

Meaning

  1. masculineA cognomen of the Roman gens Licinius

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeCrassusCrassī
genitiveCrassīCrassōrum
dativeCrassōCrassīs
accusativeCrassumCrassōs
ablativeCrassōCrassīs
vocativeCrasseCrassī

Crassus, i, m.,
I. a family name in the gens Licinia. The most distinguished were,
I. L. Licinius Crassus, a celebrated orator, a contemporary of Cicero, Cic. Brut. 38, 143; id. Off. 1, 30, 108 et saep.; cf. id. Brut. prol. pp. 68-77 Ellendt.—
II. M. Licinius Crassus, the triumvir.—Hence, Crassĭānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to the triumvir Crassus: exercitūs clades (in the war with the Parthians), Vell. 2, 82, 2; cf.: Crassiana clades, Plin. 6, 16, 18, § 47; Flor. 4, 9, 7.

Origins

Likely derived from crassus (“dense, thick”).

Quick answers

What does crassus mean in Latin?
crassus, a adjective, means “dense, thick, solid; fat, gross, plump; concentrated, thick”.
How do you pronounce crassus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkras.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkras.sus].
Which English words come from crassus?
English words that go back to Latin crassus include crass, creesh, crassamentum, grease, grampus and crassitude.