LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

currus

currus m (genitive currūs)
Classical[ˈkʊr.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkur.rus]
№ 491 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinechariot, car (more often two-wheeled cars (biga) used in battle and in racing)
    currum agereto drive a chariot
    quō simul ac vēnit, frēnātōs curribus anguēsAnd as soon as she has arrived there, she harnesses the bridled serpents to [her] chariots, and wanders dry over the ocean waves. (See Ceres (mythology).)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.498–499
  2. masculinewagon, wain
  3. broadlymasculinepoeticship, boat
  4. broadlymasculinepoeticthe horses drawing a chariot, a team, span
  5. broadlymasculinea pair of small wheels by which the beam of a plough was supported and guided

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

in quō vehimur; equī currum trahunt.
currus -ūs m — in Mille Verba, ch. Via et Iter
vehiculum ab equīs tractum
currus -ūs (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 4

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecurrus
corrus		currūs
corrūs
genitivecurrūs
corrūs		curruum
corruum
dativecurruī
corruī		curribus
corribus
accusativecurrum
corrum		currūs
corrūs
ablativecurrū
corrū		curribus
corribus
vocativecurrus
corrus		currūs
corrūs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

curru vehi, in rheda (Mil. 21. 55)
to drive.

currus, ūs, m. curro,
I. a chariot, car, wain.
I. Lit.
A. In gen., Poët. ap. Varr. L. L. 5, § 153 Müll.; Cic. Att. 13, 21, 3; Lucr. 3, 642; Cic. Div. 2, 70, 144; Verg. A. 5, 819; id. G. 3, 359; Sen. Ira, 3, 21, 2 et saep.—
B. In partic.
1. A triumphal car, Cic. Cael. 14, 34; Suet. Caes. 49; Flor. 1, 5, 6; Hor. Epod. 9, 22; Ov. M. 13, 252 al. —
b. Meton., a triumph, Cic. Fam. 15, 6, 1; Plin. 5, 5, 5, § 36; Flor. 4, 2, 89; Prop. 3 (4), 9, 53; Luc. 1, 316 et saep.; cf. Sil. 6, 345 Drak.—
2. A war-chariot ( = esseda), Caes. B. G. 4, 33, 2.—
II. Poet. transf. *
A. A ship, boat, Cat. 64, 9.—
B. The horses drawing a chariot, a team, span, Verg. G. 1, 514; id. A. 12, 287; Sil. 16, 367; Luc. 7, 570.— *
C. A pair of small wheels by which the beam of a plough was supported and guided: currus a tergo torquere imos, Verg. G. 1, 174 Forbig ad loc.; v. Heyne Exc. ad h. l.

Origins

Inherited from Proto-Italic *korzos, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from the root *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of carrus and currō (“to run”).

Descendants
  • Italiancurro

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesCurrusCurrus (ἅρμα), a chariot, a car. These terms are especially applied to the two-wheeled cars used in battle and in racing. They differed from the carpe…

Quick answers

What does currus mean in Latin?
currus, a noun, means “chariot, car (more often two-wheeled cars (biga) used in battle and in racing); wagon, wain; ship, boat”.
What is the genitive of currus?
The genitive singular is currūs. currus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce currus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʊr.rʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkur.rus].