LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

cymba

cymba f (genitive cymbae)
Classical[ˈkym.ba]Ecclesiastical[ˈt͡ʃim.ba]

Meaning

  1. feminineA boat, skiff, Pliny ascribes its invention to the Phoenicians; especially the small boat used by Charon to ferry the dead.
  2. feminineA theme.
    non est ingenii cymba gravanda tuimeddle not with themes above your powers

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

parva nāvis, scapha
cymba -ae (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 15

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Navigium · Navis · Celox · Lembus · Liburna · Scapha · Cymba · Linter

Navigium is the most general expression, like vessel; navis (ναῦς) an ordinary ship for distant voyages; celox, lembus, and liburna, are boats which may be manned and armed for service in war; scapha, cymba, and linter, are only skiffs and wherries, intended merely for short distances and for crossing over; scapha and cymba, of the broader sort, in the form of small barges; linter, long and narrow, like a canoe. (vi. 232.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecymbacymbae
cumbae
genitivecymbae
cumbae		cymbārum
cumbārum
dativecymbae
cumbae		cymbīs
cumbīs
accusativecymbam
cumbam		cymbās
cumbās
ablativecymbācymbīs
cumbīs
vocativecymbacymbae
cumbae

cymba (cumba), ae, f., = κύμβη,
I. a boat, skiff, first used by the Phœnicians, Plin. 7, 55, 57, § 208; Afran. in Non. p. 535, 31; Cic. Off. 3, 14, 59; Ov. M. 1, 293; id. F. 6, 777 al.—In partic., the boat of Charon which transported the dead, Verg. A. 6, 303; Hor. C. 2, 3, 28; Prop. 3 (4), 18, 24; Stat. S. 2, 1, 186.—
II. Trop.: non est ingenii cymba gravanda tui, i. e. meddle not with themes above your powers, Prop. 3, 3 (4, 2), 22; cf. Ov. A. A. 3, 26; Quint. 12, 10, 37.

Origins

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “a boat”).

Descendants
  • Portuguesecomba
  • Portuguesecimba

In English words that came into English from cymba

  • cymbiformcymba

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesCymbaCymba (κύμβη), literally a hollow, was a small boat, probably made originally from the hollow of a tree, used on rivers and lakes, &c., especially by …

Quick answers

What does cymba mean in Latin?
cymba, a noun, means “A boat, skiff, Pliny ascribes its invention to the Phoenicians; especially the small boat used by Charon to ferry the dead.; A theme.”.
What is the genitive of cymba?
The genitive singular is cymbae. cymba is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce cymba?
In classical Latin, [ˈkym.ba]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈt͡ʃim.ba].