adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
decōrus
decōrus (feminine decōra, neuter decōrum, adverb decōrē)
Classical[dɛˈkoː.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[deˈkɔː.rus]
Meaning
- adjectivebecoming, fitting, proper, suitable
Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.
Sweet and fitting it is to die for one's fatherland.23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 3.2.13 - adjectivedecorated, adorned; elegant, fine, beautiful
- adjectivegraceful
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
pulcher et dignusdecōrus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 18
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | decōrus | decōra | decōrum |
| genitive | decōrī | decōrae | decōrī |
| dative | decōrō | decōrae | decōrō |
| accusative | decōrum | decōram | decōrum |
| ablative | decōrō | decōrā | decōrō |
| vocative | decōre | decōra | decōrum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | decōrī | decōrae | decōra |
| genitive | decōrōrum | decōrārum | decōrōrum |
| dative | decōrīs | decōrīs | decōrīs |
| accusative | decōrōs | decōrās | decōra |
| ablative | decōrīs | decōrīs | decōrīs |
| vocative | decōrī | decōrae | decōra |
dĕcōrus, a, um, adj. decor, Gr. εὐπρεπής.
I. Becoming, fitting, seemly, proper, suitable, decorous (class.).
(a). With dat.:
QVAE QVOIQVE DIVO DECORAE GRATAEQVE SINT HOSTIAE PROVIDENTO, Cic. Leg. 2, 8, 20: color albus praecipue decorus deo est, id. ib. 2, 18, 45: quod virginitati decorum, Liv. 2, 13; Quint. 11, 3, 101; cf. ib. § 104, and 11, 1, 33 al.: decorum erat tum ipsis capessere pugnam ducibus, Liv. 2, 6; cf. Tac. A. 1, 12. —* (b). With abl. (after the analogy of dignus):
(facinora puerilia) neque te decora neque tuis virtutibus, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 24 (cf. id. Aul. 2, 2, 43).—* (g). With ad (after the analogy of aptus, accommodatus, etc.):
nos auri venas invenimus et ad usum aptas et ad ornatum decoras, Cic. N. D. 2, 60, 151.— (d). With pro:
decorum pro causa ratus, Tac. H. 3, 7.—(ε) Absol.: decorus est senis sermo, quietus et remissus, Cic. de Sen. 9, 28; cf.: vox et actio, Quint. 10, 1, 17: silentium, Hor. Od. 4, 1, 35 et saep.: nihil nisi quod honestum decorumque sit admirari, Cic. Off. 1, 20: omnino si quicquam est decorum, nihil est profecto magis, quam aequabilitas universae vitae, id. ib. 1, 31, 111; Quint. 5, 10, 40 al.: actuariis minutis Patras accedere ... non satis visum est decorum, Cic. Att. 5, 9; so with a subject-clause, id. ib. 4, 16, 3: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, Hor. Od. 3, 2, 13; Ov. M. 9, 6 (opp. turpe); cf. ib. 13, 309 al.—B. Subst.: dĕ-cōrum, i, n., in Cic. for the Gr. πρέπον, that which is seemly, suitable; seemliness, fitness, propriety, decorum (for which Quint. uses decor; cf.: decus init.): ut in vita, sic in oratione nihil est difficilius quam quid deceat videre. Πρέπον appellant hoc Graeci: nos dicamus sane decorum; Cic. Or. 21, 70; cf.: id, quod Graece πρέπον dicitur, decorum dici Latine potest, etc., id. Off. 1, 27 sq.; cf. id. ib. 1, 35; Tac. H. 1, 71.—Plur.:
vota pro reditu ejus et alia decora, id. ib. 3, 47: plura tribuere, id. ib. 3, 5. II. Absol., decorated, ornamented, adorned; elegant, fine, beautiful, handsome (not so in Cic.; but freq. in the poets and historians, esp. in Hor. and Tacit.): delubra deum, * Lucr. 2, 352; cf.:
aedes, Hor. Od. 1, 30, 3; and: supplicationes et alia decora, Tac. A. 3, 47: galeae ensesque, Verg. A. 11, 194: insigne clipei, id. ib. 2, 392: arma, Sall. C. 7, 4 al.: membra juventae, Verg. A. 4, 559; cf.: oculi, id. ib. 11, 480: pectus, id. ib. 4, 589: os, Hor. S. 1, 8, 21: facies, id. ib. 1, 2, 87; Sall. J. 6, 1: caput, Ov. M. 6, 167: juventa, Tac. H. 1, 53: genus, id. A. 6, 27 al.: palaestra, noble, skilful, Hor. Od. 1, 10, 3: verba, id. S. 2, 7, 41; id. Ep. 2, 1, 73: temporibus Augusti dicendis non defuere decora ingenia, Tac. A. 1, 1.—Sup.: Zeus decorissimus, Apul. Mag. 4, p. 276, 4.— (b). With abl., adorned with any thing; shining, beautiful with any thing:
ductores ostro decori, Verg. A. 5, 133; cf. id. ib. 12, 126: Phoebus fulgente arcu, Hor. Carm. Sec. 61: Bacchus aureo cornu, id. Od. 2, 19, 30: Medi pharetrā, id. ib. 2, 16, 2: dea formāque armisque, Ov. M. 2, 773: satis decorus etiam Graeca facundia, Tac. H. 2, 80.— With ab: voces decorae ab aspectu, Col. 6, 1.Adv.: dĕcōrē. 1. (Acc. to no. I.) Suitably, properly, decorously:
ut ea si non decore, at quam minime indecore facere possimus, Cic. Off. 1, 31 fin.; cf. id. de Or. 1, 32, 144; 3, 47, 182; Sall. J. 100 fin.—* 2. (acc. to no. II.), elegantly, charmingly, beautifully: formata d. Jovis species, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 12, 20 (cf. above, decora delubra deum).
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
decōrus adj.
decor, becoming, fitting, seemly, proper, suitable, decorous : color deo: virginitati, L.: ad ornatum: decorus est senis sermo: silentium, H.: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori, H.: decorum erat ipsis capessere pugnam, L.— Ornamented, adorned, fine, beautiful, handsome : aedes, H.: galeae ensesque, V.: arma, S.: palaestra, noble, skilful , H.: ductores ostro, V.: Medi pharetrā, H.: dea formā, O.
Origins
From decor + -us, compare honōrus, from honor.