LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

dignus

dignus (feminine digna, neuter dignum, comparative dignior, superlative dignissimus)
Classical[ˈdɪŋ.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈdiɲ.ɲus]
№ 291 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectiveappropriate, fitting, worthy, meet, deserving, fit, proper, suitable, becoming
    dignus Rōma locus, quō deus omnis eat.Rome: a worthy place whereto every god can go.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.270
    Vere dignum et justum est..."It is truly right and just..." (from the Preface of the Roman Liturgy)
  2. adjectivewith ablativeworthy of
    memoria dignusmemorable
    dignum estIt is convenient

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī meret; dignus honōre, dignus laude.
dignus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Templum Graecum

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativedignusdignadignum
genitivedignīdignaedignī
dativedignōdignaedignō
accusativedignumdignamdignum
ablativedignōdignādignō
vocativedignedignadignum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativedignīdignaedigna
genitivedignōrumdignārumdignōrum
dativedignīsdignīsdignīs
accusativedignōsdignāsdigna
ablativedignīsdignīsdignīs
vocativedignīdignaedigna

dignus, a, um, adj. i. e. DIC-nus; root in Sanscr. daç-as, fame; Gr. δοκέω, δόξα; Lat.: decet, decus,
I. worthy, deserving (in a good or ill sense), of things, suitable, fitting, becoming, proper (very freq. in all periods and kinds of writing).—Constr., in the most finished models of composition, with the abl. pretii, a relative sentence, or absol.; in the Aug. poets also freq. with the inf.; otherwise with ut, the gen., or the acc. of a neutr. pron. or adj.
(a). With abl. (so most freq.): dignus domino servus, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 227; cf.: vir patre, avo, majoribus suis dignissimus, Cic. Phil. 3, 10, 25; id. Fam. 2, 18 fin.; juvenes patre digni, Hor. A. P. 24 et saep.: dignus es verberibus multis, Plaut. Mil. 2, 3, 71: amici novi digni amicitiā, Cic. Lael. 19: summa laude digni, id. Rep. 3, 4; 3, 17 et saep.: omnibus probris, quae improbis viris Digna sunt, dignior nullus est homo, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 3, 9: assentatio, quae non modo amico, sed ne libero quidem digna est, Cic. Lael. 24, 89; Quint. 11, 1, 40: dignius odio scelus, id. 7, 2, 36: o fons, dulci digne mero, Hor. C. 3, 13, 2: munera digna venustissima Venere, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 4; for which; diem dignum Veneri (abl. v. Venus), id. ib. 1, 2, 45: ut te dignam mala malam aetatem exigas, id. Aul. 1, 1, 4; cf. id. Trin. 1, 2, 122; id. Rud. 3, 2, 26 et saep.: dicendum dignum aliquid horum auribus, Cic. Rep. 3, 13: aliquid memoria dignum consequi, id. ib. 1, 8; * Caes. B. G. 7, 25, 1; Phaedr. 4, 21, 3 al.: si quid antea admisissem piaculo dignum, Liv. 40, 13 et saep.: tribuere id cuique, quod sit quoque dignum, Cic. Rep. 3, 11: neque enim decorum est neque dis dignum, id. Div. 1, 52: quicquid dignum sapiente bonoque, Hor. Ep. 1, 4, 5 et saep.: dicere Cinnā digna, Verg. E. 9, 36.—Esp. freq. with supine in u: digna memoratu produntur, Plin. 6, 23, 26, § 97: nihil dignum dictu, Liv. 4, 30, 4; 9, 43, 6; 25, 1, 5; Suet. Aug. 43; Val. Max. 1, 5, 9; Sen. Ep. 94, 56; Tac. Agr. 1.—
(b). With rel. clause (freq., though not in the Aug. poets): non videre dignus, qui liber sies, Plaut. Ps. 2, 2, 17; cf. id. Rud. 2, 6, 38; id. Mil. 4, 2, 52: qui modeste paret, videtur, qui aliquando imperet, dignus esse, Cic. Leg. 3, 2: homines dignos, quibuscum disseratur putant, id. Ac. 2, 6, 18; Quint. 10, 1, 131 et saep.—So with rel. adv.: sive adeo digna res est ubi tu nervos intendas tuos, if the thing is really worth your bending your energies to it, Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 20; cf. also: dignos esse, qui armis cepissent, eorum urbem agrumque Bolanum esse, i. e. ut eorum urbs esset, Liv. 4, 49, 11 Weissenb. (Madv. dignum, cf. δ infra).—
(g). Absol. (that of which some one or something is worthy, to be supplied from the context): Mi. Quem ament igitur? Sy. Alium quemlibet; Nam nostrorum nemo dignus est (sc. amari), Plaut. Poen. 4, 2, 39; cf. id. Curc. 4, 2, 28: ut ne nimis cito diligere incipiant neve non dignos, etc., Cic. Lael. 21, 78 sq.: illud exemplum ab dignis et idoneis ad indignos et non idoneos transfertur, Sall. C. 51, 27 Kritz.: dignis ait esse paratus, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 22: omnes, ait, malle laudatos a se, dignos indignosque, quam, etc., Liv. 24, 16 et saep.: quem dices digniorem esse hominem hodie Athenis alterum? Plaut. Ep. 1, 1, 24; cf. Suet. Aug. 54: dignus patronus, Q. Cic. Pet. Cons. 1, 2: dignior heres, Hor. C. 2, 14, 25: digna causa, Liv. 21, 6: dignum operae pretium, Quint. 12, 6, 7: dignas grates persolvere, Verg. A. 1, 600; 2, 537: digna gloria ruris, id. G. 1, 168 et saep.: ad tuam formam illa digna est, Plaut. Mil. 4, 1, 21; so, quod supplicium dignum libidini ejus invenias? (where the dat. depends on the verb), Cic. Verr. 2, 26, 16, § 40: id, cum ipse per se dignus putaretur, impetravit, id. Arch. 4, 6.—So as subst.: "nulla contumelia est, quam facit dignus;" primum quid est dignus? nam etiam malo multi digni, sicut ipse (Antonius), Cic. Phil. 3, 9, 22; so, dignum est, it is fit, proper, becoming, = aequum est, decet, convenit, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 129; id. Merc. 1, 2, 22; Ter. Ph. 2, 3, 55; 129; Cic. Tusc. 2, 5, 14; Liv. 1, 14; Sen. de Ira, 1, 12; Verg. G. 3, 391 al.—So comp., Liv. 8, 26, 6; Cic. Clu. 53, 146.—Sup., Cic. Rosc. Am. 3, 8.—
(d). With inf. (freq. in the Aug. poets; not in Cic.): concedere, Cat. 68, 131: unā perire, Ov. M. 1, 241: credere, id. ib. 3, 311: fuisse conjux, id. ib. 14, 833: decurrere spatium vitae, id. Tr. 3, 4, 34: ponere annos, id. ib. 4, 8, 14 al.; and more freq. in the pass.: cantari dignus, Verg. E. 5, 54: amari, id. ib. 89: rapi, Ov. M. 7, 697: describi, Hor. S. 1, 4, 3: notari, id. ib. 1, 3, 24: legi, id. ib. 1, 10, 72: Quint. 10, 1, 96 et saep.: auctoribus hoc dedi, quibus dignius credi est, Liv. 8, 26 fin.; cf.: uterque optimus erat, dignusque alter elegi, alter eligere, Plin. Pan. 7, 4.—(ε) With ut: non sum dignus prae te, ut figam palum in parietem, Plaut. Mil. 4, 4, 4; Liv. 24, 16: eras dignus ut haberes integram manum; Quint. 8, 5, 12; 12, 11, 24.—(ζ) With gen. (acc. to the Gr. ἄξιός τινος—so freq. in Inscr. v. Wordsworth, Fragm. p. 494): dignus salutis, Plaut. Trin. 5, 2, 29; cogitatio dignissima tuae virtutis, Balb. ap. Cic. Att. 8, 15 A.: quidquid putabit dignum esse memoriae, Phaedr. 4, 20, 3: probae, Ov. Tr. 4, 3, 57.—(η) With acc. of a neutr. pron. or adj.: non me censes scire quid dignus siem? Plaut. Capt. 5, 2, 16; Ter. Ph. 3, 2, 34: si exoptem, quantum dignus, tantum dent (di tibi), etc., Plaut. Ps. 4, 1, 26.—(θ) With ad (very rare): ad tuam formam illa una digna est, Plaut. Mil. 4, 1, 21: amicus, dignus huic ad imitandum, Cic. Rep. 1, 18, 30.—(ι) With pro: si digna poena pro factis eorum reperitur, Sall. C. 51, 8; Cic. Div. in Caecil. 13, 42; Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 24.—Adv.: dignē, worthily, fitly, becomingly: quam digne ornata incedit, haud meretricie! Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 58; id. Cas. 4, 1, 14; Cic. de Sen. 1, 2; Cassius in Cic. Fam. 12, 13; Vell. 2, 67; Suet. Aug. 66; Hor. C. 1, 6, 14; id. Ep. 2, 1, 164 al.—Comp., Hor. S. 2, 7, 47.—Sup. seems not to occur.

Origins

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

Inherited from Proto-Italic *dek-no-, from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-no, from *deḱ- (“to take”). Doublet of decus, decet, discō, and doceō. Cognate with Ancient Greek δέχομαι (dékhomai).

Descendants
  • Catalandigne
  • Frenchdigne
  • Italiandegno
  • Occitandigne
  • Occitandinhe
  • Portuguesedigno
  • Portuguesedino
  • Romaniandemn
  • Sardiniandígnu
  • Spanishdigno

Quick answers

What does dignus mean in Latin?
dignus, a adjective, means “appropriate, fitting, worthy, meet, deserving, fit, proper, suitable, becoming; worthy of”.
How do you pronounce dignus?
In classical Latin, [ˈdɪŋ.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdiɲ.ɲus].
Where does dignus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *deḱ- → Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-no → Proto-Italic *dek-no- → Latin dignus.