LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinevariously declined, second declension, fourth declension

cupressus

cupressus m or f (genitive cupressī or cupressūs)
Classical[kʊˈprɛs.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[kuˈprɛs.sus]

Meaning

  1. cypress (tree)
    Ille mordaci uelut icta ferro / pinus aut inpulsa cupressus Euro / procidit late posuitque collum in / pulvere TeucroLike a pine-tree slashed by the bite of the axe, / or a cypress struck by an Easterly wind, / he fell, outstretched, to the earth, bowed down his neck / in the Trojan dust.23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 4.6.9-12

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

arbor alta locōrum sacrōrum
cupressus -ī (f) — in Epistulae, ch. 7

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecupressuscupressī
cupressūs, cyparissī, cypressī
genitivecupressī
cupressūs, cyparissī, cypressī		cupressōrum
cupressuum, cyparissōrum, cypressōrum, cypressuum
dativecupressō
cupressuī, cyparissō, cypressō, cypressuī		cupressīs
cupressibus, cyparissīs, cypressibus, cypressīs
accusativecupressum
cyparissum, cypressum		cupressōs
cupressūs, cyparissōs, cypressōs
ablativecupressō
cupressū, cyparissō, cypressō, cypressū		cupressīs
cupressibus, cyparissīs, cypressibus, cypressīs
vocativecupresse
cupressus, cyparisse, cypresse		cupressī
cupressūs, cyparissī, cypressī

cū^pressus, i, and less freq. ūs, f.
I. (m. acc. plur. rectosque cupressos, Enn. ap. Gell. 13, 20, 13, and ap. Non. p. 195; rare collat. form cўpărissus, i, f., Verg. A. 3, 680; cf. infra B.; and in late Lat. cȳ^pres-sus, i, f., Vulg. Ecclus. 24, 17; Isid. Orig. 17, 7, 34), = κυπάρισσος, the cypress, an evergreen tree sacred to Pluto and used at funerals: Cupressus sempervirens, Linn.— Sing. nom., Hor. C. 4, 6, 10; Plin. 16, 33, 60, § 142; 16, 40, 78, § 212; Ov. M. 10, 106.—Gen. cupressi, Cato, R. R. 48, 1; 151, 1 sq.; Plin. 17, 12, 18, § 89; 24, 5, 10, § 15; Val. Fl. 1, 774; Ser. Samm. 598; 691 al.; cupressus, Plin. 14, 16, 19, § 112; App. M. 6, 30, p. 186; 8, 18, p. 209.—Dat. cupresso, Ser. Samm. 688.—Abl. cupresso, Verg. A. 3, 64; Hor. A. P. 332; Cels. 4, 9; 6, 18, 6; Plin. 22, 23, 47, § 97; 24, 6, 22, § 32; Vitr. 1, 2, 8; 2, 9, 12; Mart. 6, 73, 7; Plin. Ep. 8, 8, 2: cupressu, Cat. 64, 291; Ov. M. 3, 155; id. Tr. 3, 13, 21; Vitr. 2, 9, 13; Col. 4, 26, 1; Mart. 6, 49, 4; 6, 49, 11; Petr. 120; Spart. Sev. 22, 4.—Plur. nom. cupressi, Verg. E. 1, 26; Hor. C. 1, 9, 11: cupressus, Petr. 131; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 370.—Acc. cupressos, Enn. ap. Gell. 13, 20, 13; Cato, R. R. 28, 1; Varr. R. R. 1, 15, 1, 26; Verg. G. 2, 443; id. A. 6, 216; Hor. C. 2, 14, 23; id. Epod. 5, 18: cupressus, Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 393.—
B. Personified: Cўpărissus, i, m., a youth changed to a cypress, Ov M. 10, 121 sq.; cf. Serv. ad Verg. G. 1, 20; id. A. 3, 64.—
II. Meton., a box of cypress wood; abl. cupresso, Hor. A. P. 332.

Origins

Ancient Greek κῠπᾰ́ρῐσσος (kŭpắrĭssos)bor. Latin cupressus Borrowed from Ancient Greek κῠπᾰ́ρῐσσος (kŭpắrĭssos).

Descendants
  • Catalanciprés
  • Catalanciprer
  • Catalanxiprer
  • Englishcypress
  • Frenchcyprès
  • Italiancipresso
  • Portuguesecipreste
  • Spanishciprés
  • Aragonesecupreso
  • Istriotansiprèso

In English words that came into English from cupressus

  • cypresscypressus
  • cupressineouscupressus

Quick answers

What does cupressus mean in Latin?
cupressus, a noun, means “cypress (tree)”.
What is the genitive of cupressus?
The genitive singular is cupressī. cupressus is masculine, variously declined, second declension, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce cupressus?
In classical Latin, [kʊˈprɛs.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [kuˈprɛs.sus].