LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

cupīdō1

cupīdō f (genitive cupīdinis)
Classical[kʊˈpiː.doː]Ecclesiastical[kuˈpiː.do]
№ 906 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. desire, longing, especially amorous desire, eagerness
  2. lust, passion, greed
    cupīdō caecablind ambition

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

cupiditās magna, magnum dēsīderium.
cupīdō -inis f — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Cupido · Cupiditas · Libido · Voluptas

1. Cupido is the desire after something, considered actively, and as in action, in opp. to aversion; whereas cupiditas is the passion of desire, considered neutrally, as a state of mind, in opp. to tranquillity of mind. Cupido must necessarily, cupiditas may be, in construction with a genitive, expressed or understood; in this case, cupido relates especially to possession and money, cupiditas, to goods of every kind. Vell. P. ii. 33. Pecuniæ cupidine: and further on, Interminatam imperii cupiditatem. 2. Cupido and cupiditas stand in opp. to temperate wishes; libido (from λίψ) the intemperate desire and capricious longing after something, in opp. to rational will, ratio, Suet. Aug. 69, or voluntas, Cic. Fam. ix. 16. Libidines are lusts, with reference to the want of self-government; voluptates, pleasures, in opp. to serious employments, or to pains. Tac. H. ii. 31. Minus Vitellii ignavæ voluptates quam Othonis flagrantissimæ libidines timebantur. (v. 60.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecupīdōcupīdinēs
genitivecupīdiniscupīdinum
dativecupīdinīcupīdinibus
accusativecupīdinemcupīdinēs
ablativecupīdinecupīdinibus
vocativecupīdōcupīdinēs

cŭpīdo (cūpēdo or cuppēdo, Lucr. 1, 1082; 4, 1090; 5, 45), ĭnis, f. (m., Plant. Am. 2, 2, 210; Hor. C. 2, 16, 15; 3, 16, 39; 3, 24, 51; id. S. 1, 1, 61; id. Ep. 1, 1, 33; Ov. M. 8, 74; 9, 734; Sil. 4, 99; and personified in all authors;
I. v. the foll.) [cupidus], access. form of cupiditas, desire, wish, longing, eagerness, in a good and (more usu.) in a bad sense (very freq. in the poets and histt., esp. in Sall.; twice in Quint., but in Cic. only as personified).
I. In gen.
A. In a good sense: cupido cepit miseram nunc me proloqui, etc. (transl. from Eurip. Med. 57: ἵμερος μʼ ὑπῆλθε, etc.), Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 26, 63 (Trag. Rel. v. 291 Vahl.); cf.: Romulum cupido cepit urbis condendae, Liv. 1, 6, 3: cupido eum ceperat in verticem montis ascendendi, id. 40, 21, 2; and with inf.: cupido incessit Aethiopiam invisere, Curt. 4, 8, 3: aquae, Plaut. Trin. 3, 2, 50; cf.: laticum frugumque, Lucr. 4, 1093: gloriae, Sall. C. 7, 3: aeternitatis perpetuaeque famae, Suet. Ner. 55: lucis, Quint. 6, prooem. § 13: placendi, id. 10, 7, 17 al.—
2. Trop., of things: res medii cuppedine victae, overcome by their tendency to a centre, Lucr. 1, 1082.—
B. In a bad sense, desire, passion, lust, greed.
(a). With gen.: honorum caeca (with avarities), Lucr. 3, 59; cf. honoris, Sall. C. 3, 5: mala vitaï, Lucr. 3, 1077: immitis uvae (i. e. virginis immaturae), Hor. C. 2, 5, 9: praedae caeca, Ov. M. 3, 620: intempestiva concubitūs, id. ib. 10, 689; cf. Veneris, id. ib. 14, 634 et saep.: difficilia faciundi, Sall. J. 93, 3: ejus (oppidi) potiundi, id. ib. 89, 6: quarum (rerum) inmodica cupido inter mortales est, Liv. 6, 35, 6: populos ad cupidinem novae fortunae erigere, id. 21, 19, 7.—In plur.: malae dominationis cupidinibus flagrans, Tac. A. 13, 2.—
(b). Absol.: homines cupidine caeci, Lucr. 4, 1153; so id. 4, 1090: cuppedinis acres curae, id. 5, 45; Hor. C. 2, 16, 15 et saep.: femineus, Ov. M. 9, 734; cf. muliebris, Tac. A. 4, 39.—In plur., Hor. S. 1, 2, 111; 2, 7, 85; Tac. A. 3, 52: eo provectas Romanorum cupidines, ut non corpora, ne senectam quidam aut virginitatem inpollutam relinquant, id. ib. 14, 35.—
II. In partic.
A. The desire that springs from love, desire, love: differor Cupidine ejus, Plaut. Poen. 1, 1, 29; cf.: visae virginis, Ov. M. 13, 906; Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 210; cf. id. Poen. 1, 1, 68. —In plur.: me, Contactum nullis ante cupidinibus, Prop. 1, 1, 2.—Hence,
2. Personified: Cŭpīdo, ĭnis, m., the god of love, Cupid, son of Venus, Cic. N. D. 3, 23, 58 sq.; Prop. 2, 14, 5 (3, 18, 21); Ov. M. 1, 453; 5, 366 et saep.; Hor. C. 1, 2, 34; 2, 8, 14 al.; in the form CVPEDO, Inscr. Orell. 1367.—In plur.: mater saeva Cupidinum, Hor. C. 1, 19, 1 Orell. ad loc.; 4, 1, 5 al.; cf. of sculptured figures: exstant caelati scyphi ... Myos in eādem aede Silenos et Cupidines, Plin. 33, 12, 55, § 155; 36, 5, 4, § 41. —Hence,
(b). Cŭpīdĭnĕus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Cupid (poet.): tela, Ov. Tr. 4, 10, 65: sagittae, id. R. Am. 157.—Transf., lovely, charming ( = formosus), Mart. 7, 87, 9.—
B. In animals, the sexual impulse: equina, Col. 6, 27, 3: equi cupidine sollicitati, id. 6, 27, 8.—
C. (Cf. cupidus, II. A. 2., and cupiditas, II. B. 1.) Avarice, covetousness: Narcissum incusat cupidinis ac praedarum, Tac. A. 12, 57; in plur., id. H. 1, 66.—*
2. Personified: Cupido sordidus, sordid Avarice, Hor. C. 2, 16, 15.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kwep-
  2. Latincupīdō

Proto-Indo-European *kup-yé-tider. Proto-Italic *kupjō Latin cupiō Proto-Indo-European *-Hōder. Latin -ēdō Latin -īdō Latin cupīdō From cupiō (“to desire”) + -īdō.

Descendants
  • Italiancupidine
  • Englishcupidinousfrom Latin *cupīdinōsus
proper noun · masculinethird declension
Cupīdō2
Cupīdō m (genitive Cupīdinis)
Classical[kʊˈpiː.doː]Ecclesiastical[kuˈpiː.do]

Meaning

  1. Cupid (god of love, lust and sex)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeCupīdōCupīdinēs
genitiveCupīdinisCupīdinum
dativeCupīdinīCupīdinibus
accusativeCupīdinemCupīdinēs
ablativeCupīdineCupīdinibus
vocativeCupīdōCupīdinēs

Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.

Cupīdō inis, m
the god of love, Cupid, son of Venus, C., V., O., H. — Plur: mater Cupidinum, H.

Origins

Personification of cupīdō (“desire, longing”), with a change in gender to masculine.

Descendants
  • CatalanCupido
  • EnglishCupid
  • FrenchCupidon
  • PortugueseCupido
  • ItalianCupido
  • RussianКупидо́н

Quick answers

What does cupīdō mean in Latin?
cupīdō, a noun, means “desire, longing, especially amorous desire, eagerness; lust, passion, greed”.
What is the genitive of cupīdō?
The genitive singular is cupīdinis. cupīdō is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce cupīdō?
In classical Latin, [kʊˈpiː.doː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [kuˈpiː.do].
Where does cupīdō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *kwep- → Latin cupīdō.