LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

dignitās

dignitās f (genitive dignitātis)
Classical[ˈdɪŋ.nɪ.taːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈdiɲ.ɲi.tas]
№ 956 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. worth, worthiness, merit, desert
  2. fitness, suitability
  3. rank, status, standing, esteem, dignity
  4. dignity, greatness
    deus ibi magna cum dignitate sedetThere the god sits with great dignity
  5. metonymicallydignitary (a person of high rank, a person in high office)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

honor quem virtūs et vīta rēcta dant; vir magnae dignitātis.
dignitās -ātis f — in Mille Verba, Basilica et Iūs

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedignitāsdignitātēs
genitivedignitātisdignitātum
dativedignitātīdignitātibus
accusativedignitātemdignitātēs
ablativedignitātedignitātibus
vocativedignitāsdignitātēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

dignitatis gradum ascendere
to attain a position of dignity.
dignitas est summa in aliquo
to be in a dignified position.
summa dignitate praeditum esse
to be in a dignified position.
dignitati suae servire, consulere
to be careful of one's dignity.
aliquem de dignitatis gradu demovere
to overthrow a person (cf. sect. IX. 6).
auctoritati, dignitati alicuius illudere
to insult a person's dignity.
auctoritatem or dignitatem sibi conciliare, parare
to gain dignity; to make oneself a person of consequence.
dignitatem suam tueri, defendere, retinere, obtinere
to guard, maintain one's dignity.
5 more phrases
aliquem ad summam dignitatem perducere (B. G. 7. 39)
to elevate to the highest dignity.
principem (primum), secundum locum dignitatis obtinere
to occupy the first, second position in the state.
aliquid alienum (a) dignitate sua or merely a se ducere
to consider a thing beneath one's dignity.
in altissimo dignitatis gradu collocatum, locatum, positum esse
to occupy a very high position in the state.
aliquem ex altissimo dignitatis gradu praecipitare (Dom. 37. 98)
to depose, bring down a person from his elevated position.

dignĭtas, ātis (
I. gen. plur. dignitatum, Sen. Ben. 2, 17, 1; Plaut. Ep. 9, 5, 3; Vop. Florian. 6, 2: -tatium, Sen. Polyb. 17, 2), f. dignus.
I. Lit., a being worthy, worth, worthiness, merit, desert (so, rarely, and perh. only in Cic.): Lamia petit praeturam: omnesque intelligunt nec dignitatem ei deesse nec gratiam, Cic. Fam. 11, 17; id. Agr. 2, 2, 3: dignitas consularis, a being worthy of the office of consul, id. Mur. 13: pro dignitate laudare, id. Rosc. Am. 12, 33.
II. Meton. (the cause for the effect), dignity, greatness, grandeur, authority, rank (cf. honos, honestas, laus, existimatio, gloria, fama, nomen).
A. In gen.: mihi gratulabere, quod audisses me pristinam meam dignitatem obtinere. Ego autem, si dignitas est bene de re publica sentire, obtineo dignitatem meam; sin autem in eo dignitas est, si, quod sentias, re efficere possis, ne vestigium quidem ullum est reliquum nobis dignitatis, Cic. Fam. 4, 14, 1; dignitas (est) alicujus honesta et cultu et honore et verecundia digna auctoritas, id. Inv. 2, 55, 156: cum pulchritudinis duo genera sint, quorum in altero venustas est, in altero dignitas; venustatem muliebrem ducere debemus, dignitatem virilem, id. Off. 1, 36, 130: formae, id. ib.; Suet. Claud. 30: corporis, Laber. ap. Macr. S. 2, 7; Nep. Dion. 1, 2; cf. also Cic. Inv. 2, 1; Vell. 2, 29; Plin. Pan. 4, 5: agere cum dignitate ac venustate, Cic. de Or. 1, 31, 142: personarum dignitas, id. ib. § 141: retinere in rebus asperis dignitatem, id. ib. 2, 85, 346: in senatu conservanda auctoritas, apud populum dignitas, Quint. 11, 3, 153 et saep.: celsissima sedes dignitatis atque honoris, Cic. Sull. 2, 5: ex tam alto dignitatis gradu, id. Lael. 3 fin.; cf. id. Rep. 1, 27 (twice): est in ipsis (liberis populis) magnus delectus hominum et dignitatum, id. ib. 1, 34: aliquem ex humili loco ad summam dignitatem perducere, Caes. B. G. 7, 39, 1: aliquem dignitate exaequare, Caes. B. C. 1, 4, 4: ut secundum locum dignitatis Remi obtinerent, id. B. G. 6, 12 fin.; 4, 17, 1; cf. id. ib. 6, 8, 1; 7, 66, 5; 7, 77, 6; id. B. C. 1, 9, 2 et saep.—
B. In partic.
(a). Official dignity, honorable employment, office: gratulor laetorque tum praesenti tum etiam sperata tua dignitate, Cic. Fam. 2, 9; id. ap. Quint. 7, 3, 35; cf. in plur., Plin. 21, 7, 21, § 44; id. Pan. 61, 2 al.—
(b). Men holding high office, men in honorable employment: cum dignitates abessent, Liv. 22, 40, 4; cf. Quint. 11, 1, 67.—
C. Transf., of inanimate things, worth, value, excellence: opsonii, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 2, 23: praeclara et plena dignitatis domus, Cic. Off. 1, 39; cf. porticus, id. Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1; id. de Or. 3, 46, 180: portus, urbis, Nep. Them. 6: loci, Suet. Calig. 41 al.: dignitas, quae est in latitudine pectoris, Quint. 11, 3, 141: verborum, Cic. Prov. Cons. 11, 27; Quint. 11, 3, 46; cf. id. 8, 3, 24: debita rerum, id. 12, 1, 8; cf. id. 8, 3, 38: subsequendi, id. 12, 11, 28: cum dignitate actionis, id. 5, 10, 54 al.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*deḱ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*deḱ-no
  3. Proto-Italic*dek-no-
  4. Latindignitās

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin dignitās From dignus + -tās.

Descendants
  • Catalandignitat
  • Italiandignità
  • Italiandegnità
  • Occitandignitat
  • Englishdaintyfrom Old French deintié
  • Frenchdignitéfrom Old French dignité
  • Englishdignityfrom Old French dignité
  • Portuguesedignidade
  • Portuguesedinidade
  • Romaniandemnitate

In English words that came into English from dignitās

  • dignitydignitās
  • daintydignitātem

Quick answers

What does dignitās mean in Latin?
dignitās, a noun, means “worth, worthiness, merit, desert; fitness, suitability; rank, status, standing, esteem, dignity”.
What is the genitive of dignitās?
The genitive singular is dignitātis. dignitās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce dignitās?
In classical Latin, [ˈdɪŋ.nɪ.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdiɲ.ɲi.tas].
Where does dignitās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- → Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-no → Proto-Italic *dek-no- → Latin dignitās.