LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

dēscrīptiō

dēscrīptiō f (genitive dēscrīptiōnis)
Classical[deːsˈkriːp.ti.oː]Ecclesiastical[desˈkrip.t͡si.o]

Meaning

  1. description
  2. diagram, plan
  3. transcript, copy
  4. drawing, sketch

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedēscrīptiōdēscrīptiōnēs
genitivedēscrīptiōnisdēscrīptiōnum
dativedēscrīptiōnīdēscrīptiōnibus
accusativedēscrīptiōnemdēscrīptiōnēs
ablativedēscrīptiōnedēscrīptiōnibus
vocativedēscrīptiōdēscrīptiōnēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

anni descriptio
the division of the year (into months, etc.)
descriptio civitatis
the constitution.
temporum ratio, descriptio, ordo
chronology.
aequa iuris descriptio (Off. 2. 4. 15)
a sound judicial system.
terrarum or regionum descriptio (geographia)
geography.

dēscriptĭo, ōnis (in MSS. and edd. often confounded with discriptio,
I. v. infra), f. describo (freq. in Cic.), a marking out, delineation, copy, transcript: in concreto.
I. Lit. (rare): eadem caeli descriptio, Cic. Rep. 6, 22; cf. id. ib. 1, 14: explicate descriptionem imaginemque tabularum, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 77 fin. In plur.: numeris aut descriptionibus aliquid explicare, id. Tusc. 1, 17: volutarum, sketches, drawings, Vitr. 3, 3: orbis terrarum, maps, id. 8, 2 et saep. —Far more freq.,
II. Trop.
A. A representation, delineation, description: nominis brevis et aperta descriptio, Cic. Inv. 2, 18: dilucida locorum, Quint. 9, 2, 44: regionum, id. 4, 3, 12: Siciliae, id. 11, 3, 164: convivii luxuriosi, id. 8, 3, 66 et saep.—In rhetor., the delineating of character, Cic. Top. 22, 83; id. de Or. 3, 53, 205; Quint. 9, 1, 31; cf. Auct. Her. 4, 39, 51.—
B. A proper disposition, order, arrangement: via descriptionis atque ordinis (in oratione), id. de Or. 2, 9, 36: aedificandi, id. Off. 1, 39; legionum et auxiliorum, Suet. Tib. 30: descriptio centuriarum classiumque non erat, Liv. 4, 4, 2: populi, Vulg. 2 Reg. 24, 9.—In plur.: descriptiones temporum, id. Ac. 1, 3, 19 et saep. (Descriptio is often found in MSS. and edd. in the sense of distribution, division; but here the proper form is discriptio, e. g. Cic. Rep. 2, 22; id. de Off. 1, 7, 21 saep.)

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin dēscrīptiō From dēscrībō + -tiō.

Descendants
  • Catalandescripció
  • Englishdescription
  • Frenchdescription
  • Italiandescrizione
  • Occitandescripcion
  • Portuguesedescrição
  • Romaniandescripție
  • Spanishdescripción
  • Galiciandescrición
  • Liguriandescriçion

Quick answers

What does dēscrīptiō mean in Latin?
dēscrīptiō, a noun, means “description; diagram, plan; transcript, copy”.
What is the genitive of dēscrīptiō?
The genitive singular is dēscrīptiōnis. dēscrīptiō is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce dēscrīptiō?
In classical Latin, [deːsˈkriːp.ti.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [desˈkrip.t͡si.o].