verbirregular conjugation, suppletive, no passive, no supine stem except in the future active participle, no gerund
dēsum
dēsum (present infinitive deesse, perfect active dēfuī, future active participle dēfutūrus)
Classical[ˈdeː.sũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɛː.s̬um]
№ 463 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- suppletiveto be wanting/lacking (+ dative)
Dominus pāscit mē et nihil mihī dēerit.
The Lord is my shepherd and nothing shall I want.[...] nōn dēest reī pūblicae cōnsilium neque auctōritās hujus ōrdinis: nōs, nōs, dīcō apertē, cōnsulēs dēsumus.
The Republic lacks neither the judgment nor the authority of this body: [it is] we — we, I say openly — we the consuls [who] are lacking.63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.3 - suppletiveto fall short of, fail to obtain, miss
- suppletiveto abandon, to desert, to neglect
Dīmicantī dē fāmā deesse.
To abandon one whose reputation is attacked. - suppletiveto be away, to be absent, to be missing
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
nōn adsum ubi esse dēbeō; ūnus locus vacuus: ūnus deest.dēsum -esse dēfuī — in Mille Verba, Fūnus et Memoria
nōn adest, dēficitdēest, dēesse — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 17
to be lacking
dēsum -esse — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 15
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Abesse · Deesse · Deficere
1. Abesse denotes absence as a local relation, ‘to be away’ from a place; but deesse denotes an absence by which a thing is rendered incomplete, and means ‘to fail,’ ‘to be wanting,’ in opp. to esse and superesse. Cic. Brut. 80. Calidio hoc unum, si nihil utilitatis habebat, abfuit, si opus erat, defuit. 2. Deesse denotes a completed (i.e. already existing), deficere a commencing state. Cic. Verr. i. 11. Vererer ne oratio deesset, ne vox viresque deficerent. (v. 339.)
Conjugation future irregular no supine
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | dēsum | dēeram | dēerō | dēfuī | dēfueram | dēfuerō |
| 2nd sg. | dēes | dēerās | dēeris dēere | dēfuistī | dēfuerās | dēfueris |
| 3rd sg. | dēest | dēerat | dēerit | dēfuit | dēfuerat | dēfuerit |
| 1st pl. | dēsumus | dēerāmus | dēerimus | dēfuimus | dēfuerāmus | dēfuerimus |
| 2nd pl. | dēestis | dēerātis | dēeritis | dēfuistis | dēfuerātis | dēfueritis |
| 3rd pl. | dēsunt | dēerant | dēerunt | dēfuērunt dēfuēre | dēfuerant | dēfuerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | dēsim dēsiem, dēfuam | dēessem dēforem, dēssem | dēfuerim | dēfuissem |
| 2nd sg. | dēsīs dēsiēs, dēfuās | dēessēs dēforēs | dēfuerīs | dēfuissēs |
| 3rd sg. | dēsit dēsiet, dēfuat | dēesset dēforet | dēfuerit | dēfuisset |
| 1st pl. | dēsīmus dēsiēmus, dēfuāmus | dēessēmus dēforēmus | dēfuerīmus | dēfuissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | dēsītis dēsiētis, dēfuātis | dēessētis dēforētis | dēfuerītis | dēfuissētis |
| 3rd pl. | dēsint dēsient, dēfuant | dēessent dēforent | dēfuerint | dēfuissent |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | dēes | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | dēeste | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | dēestō | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | dēestō | — |
| fut. 2nd pl. | dēestōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | dēsuntō | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | dēesse | — |
| perfect infinitive | dēfuisse | — |
| future infinitive | dēfutūrum esse dēfore | — |
| future participle | dēfutūrus dēfutūra, dēfutūrā, dēfutūrae, dēfutūram, dēfutūrārum, dēfutūrās, dēfutūre, dēfutūrī, dēfutūrīs, dēfutūrō, dēfutūrōrum, dēfutūrōs, dēfutūrum | — |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- occasioni deesse
- to neglect an opportunity.
- saluti rei publicae non deesse
- to further the common weal.
- officio suo deesse (Fam. 7. 3)
- to neglect one's duty.
- huic rei deest apud nos vocabulum
- we have no expression for that.
- rei publicae deesse (opp. adesse)
- to take no part in politics.
- tempus mihi deest ad aliquid faciendum
- I have no time to do something.
- alicui petenti satisfacere, non deesse
- to accede to a man's petitions.
- percontanti non deesse (De Or. 1. 21. 97)
- to answer every question.
1 more phrases
- deest mihi argumentum ad scribendum (Att. 9. 7. 7)
- I have nothing to write about.
dē-sum, fŭi, esse (ee in deest, deesse, deerit, etc., in the poets
I. per synaeresin as one syll., Lucr. 1, 44; Cat. 64, 151; Verg. G. 2, 233; id. A. 7, 262; 10, 378; Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 24; Ov. M. 15, 354 et saep.; praes. subj., desiet, Cato R. R. 8; perf., defuerunt, trisyl., Ov. M. 6, 585; fut. inf., commonly defuturum esse, as Cic. Div. in Caecil. 1, 2, etc.;
also defore, id. Fam. 13, 63; Caes. B. G. 5, 56; Sil. 9, 248; imperf. subj., deforent, Ambros. Hexaem. 3, 13), v. n., to be away, be absent; to fail, be wanting (for syn. cf.: absum, deficio, descisco, negligo; freq. in all periods). I. In gen.
(a). Absol.:
non ratio, verum argentum deerat, Ter. Ph. 2, 1, 69: frigore enim desunt ignes ventique calore Deficiunt, Lucr. 6, 360: cf. id. 3, 455; Cato R. R. 8: omnia deerant, quae, etc., Caes. B. G. 4, 29 fin.: semper paullum ad summam felicitatem defuisse, id. ib. 6, 43, 5: ibi numquam causas seditionum et certaminis defore, Liv. 45, 18: quod non desit habentem, etc., Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 52 et saep.: non desunt qui, for sunt qui, Quint. 4, 5, 11; 8, 3, 85; Plin. 2, 109, 112, § 248.—(b). With dat. (so most freq.):
metuo mihi in monendo ne defuerit oratio, Plaut. Bac. 1, 1, 3 and 4: cui nihil desit, quod, etc., Cic. Rep. 1, 17; cf. id. Lael. 14, 51: sive deest naturae quippiam, sive abundat atque affluit, id. Div. 1, 29, 61: quantum alteri sententiae deesset animi, tantum alteri superesse, Caes. B. C. 2, 31; so, opp. superesse, Cic. Fam. 13, 63; cf. opp. superare, Sall. C. 20, 11: neu desint epulis rosae, Hor. Od. 1, 36, 15; id. Ep. 1, 1, 58 et saep.: hoc unum ad pristinam fortunam Caesari defuit, Caes. B. G. 4, 26 fin.; cf. id. B. C. 3, 2, 2; 3, 96, 2. —(g). With in:
ut neque in Antonio deesset hic ornatus orationis, neque in Crasso redundaret, Cic. de Or. 3, 4 fin.; id. Rep. 2, 33: in C. Laenio commendando, id. Fam. 13, 63 al.—(d). With inf. (poet. and in postAug. prose):
et mihi non desunt turpes pendere corollae, Prop. 1, 16, 7; Sil. 6, 10; Tac. H. 4, 1 al.—(ε) With quominus: duas sibi res, quominus in vulgus et in foro diceret, defuisse, Cic. Rep. 3, 30 fin. (ap. Non. 262, 23); Tac. A. 14, 39.—(ζ) With quin: nihil contumeliarum defuit, quin subiret, Suet. Ner. 45.—(η) With ut: non defuit, ut, etc., Capitol. Gord. III. 31.—II. Pregn., to fail, be wanting in one's duty, as in rendering assistance, etc.; not to assist or serve, to desert one, to neglect a person or thing.
(a). With dat.:
tantum enitor, ut neque amicis neque etiam alienioribus opera, consilio, labore desim, Cic. Fam. 1, 9, 17; cf. id. Mur. 4 fin.: ne tibi desis, that you be not wanting to yourself, neglect not your own advantage, id. Rosc. Am. 36, 104; id. Fam. 5, 12, 2; cf. Hor. S. 1, 9, 56; 2, 1, 17; 1, 4, 134: senatu reique publicae, Caes. B. C. 1, 1, 3 sq.: communi saluti nulla in re, id. B. G. 5, 33, 2: Timotheo de fama dimicanti, Nep. Timoth. 4, 3: huic rei, Caes. B. C. 3, 93, 2: negotio, id. ib. 2, 41, 3: decori vestro, Cic. Rep. 6, 24: officio et dignitati meae, id. Att. 7, 17, 4; Liv. 3, 50: tempori, id. 21, 27; cf.: occasioni temporis, Caes. B. C. 3, 79 et saep.—(b). Without dat.:
non deest reipublicae consilium ... nos, nos, dico aperte, consules desumus, Cic. Cat. 1, 1 fin.; id. Rep. 3, 21: qui non deerat in causis, id. Brut. 34, 130: nec deerat Ptolemaeus, Tac. H. 1, 22 fin.—B. To fall short of, miss, fail to obtain:
ne quis desit gratiae Dei, Vulg. Heb. 12, 15.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
dē-sum fuī, esse
(in poetry dee- is one syll.; perf. dēfuērunt, trisyl., O.; fut. inf. dēfutūrum esse or dēfore), to be away, be absent, fail, be wanting, be missing: quasi desit locus, T.: Non ratio, verum argentum deerat, T.: si forte desit pecunia: conlectis omnibus una Defuit, V.: Qui lacriment desunt, O.: omnia deerant, quae usui erant, Cs.: cui omnia ad usum defuissent, Cs.: nihil tibi a me defuit, was withheld: in quā (causā) oratio deesse nemini possit: Verba animo desunt, O.: quantum sententiae deesset animi, Cs.: Neu desint epulis rosae, H.: hoc ad fortunam Caesari defuit, Cs.: id rebus defuit unum, i. e. to complete our misery, V.: nec defuit audentia Druso, Ta.: Deest iam terra fugae, to fly to, V.: ut neque in Antonio deesset hic ornatus orationis: quas sibi res, quo minus in foro diceret, defuisse: ne tibi desit? lest you come to want? H.; cf. quod non desit habere, i. e. enough, H.—To fail, be wanting, abandon, desert, neglect: nec rei p. nec amicis: ne tibi desis, betray yourself: dignitati suae: senatu reique p., Cs.: Timotheo de famā dimicanti, N.: huic rei, Cs.: operae, H.: ne tempori deesset, lose the opportunity, L.: occasioni temporis, Cs.: nos consules desumus, are in fault.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*de
- Proto-Indo-European*déh₁
- Proto-Italic*dē
- Latindēsum
Latin dē- Latin sum Latin dēsum From dē- + sum.