LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

dolor

dolor m (genitive dolōris)
Classical[ˈdɔ.ɫɔr]Ecclesiastical[ˈdɔː.lor]
№ 193 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinepain, ache, hurt
    Hunc ego sī potuī tantum spērāre dolōrem,If I was able to anticipate this much pain, so too shall I be able, my sister, to endure it.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.419–420
  2. masculineanguish, grief, sorrow
  3. masculineindignation, resentment, anger, fury, vengeance

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod corpus aut animus male sentit; dolōre flēmus.
dolor -ōris m — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs
pain
dolor — in Seneca, ch. II

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Dolor · Tristitia · Mœstitia · Luctus

1. Dolor (from θλᾶν, ἄθλιος?) denotes an inward feeling of grief, opp. to gaudium, Cic. Phil. xiii. 20. Suet. Cæs. 22, like ἄλγος; whereas tristitia, mœror, luctus, denote an utterance or external manifestation of this inward feeling. Tristitia and mœstitia are the natural and involuntary manifestation of it in the gestures of the body and in the countenance; luctus (ἀλυκτός), its artificial manifestation, designedly, and through the conventional signs of mourning, as cutting off the hair, mourning clothes, etc., at an appointed time, like πένθος. Mœror also serves for a heightened expression of dolor, and luctus of mœror and tristitia, as far as the manifestation is added to distinguish the feeling from it. Cic. Att. xii. 28. Mærorem minui; dolorem nec potui, nec si possem vellem. Phil. xi. 1. Magno in dolore sum, vel in mœrore potius, quem ex miserabili morte C. Trebonii accepimus. Plin. Ep. v. 9. Illud non triste solum, verum etiam luctuosum, quod Julius avitus decessit. Tac. Agr. 43. Finis vitæ ejus nobis luctuosus, amicis tristis; for relations only put on mourning. Tac. Ann. ii. 82. Quanquam nec insignibus lugentium abstinebant, altius animis mœrebant. Cic. Sext. 29, 39. Luctum nos hausimus majorem dolorem ille animi non minorem. 2. Tristitia (from ταρακτός?) denotes the expression of grief in a bad sense, as gloom, fretfulness, and ill-humor, opp. to hilaratus, Cic. Att. xii. 40. Fin. v. 30. Cæcil. ap. Gell. xv. 9. Quintil. xi. 3, 67, 72, 79, 151; whereas mœstitia (from μύρω) denotes grief, as deserving of commiseration, as affliction, when a most just grief gives a tone of sadness, in opp. to lætus, Sall. Cat. f. Tac. Ann. i. 28. Tristitia is more an affair of reflection; mœstitia, of feeling. The tristis, like the truculentus, is known by his forbidding look, his wrinkled forehead, the contraction of his eyebrows; the mœstus, like the afflictus, by his lack-lustre eyes and dejected look. Tac. Hist. i. 82. Rarus per vias populus mœsta plebs; dejecti in terram militum vultus, ac plus tristitæ quam pœnitentiæ. Cic. Mur. 24, 49. Tristem ipsum, mœstos amicos: and Orat. 22, 74. (iii. 234.)

Cura · Sollicitudo · Angor · Dolor · Ægritudo

Cura, sollicitudo, and angor, mean the disturbance of the mind with reference to a future evil and danger; cura (from the antiquated word coera, from κοίρανος) as thoughtfulness, uneasiness, apprehension, in opp. to incuria, like φροντίς; sollicitudo, as sensitiveness, discomposure, anxiety, in opp. to securitas, Tac. H. iv. 58, like μέριμνα; angor (from ἄγχω) as a passion, anguish, fear, in opp. to solutus animus; whereas dolor and ægritudo relate to a present evil; dolor (from θλᾶν?) as a hardship or pain, in opp. to gaudium, ἄλγος; ægritudo, as a sickness of the soul, like ἀνία, in opp. to alacritas. Cic. Tusc. v. 16. Cic. Fin. i. 22. Nec præterea res ulla est, quæ sua natura aut sollicitare possit aut angere. Accius apud Non. Ubi cura est, ibi anxitudo. Plin. Ep. ii. 11. Cæsar mihi tantum studium, tantam etiam curam—nimium est enim dicere sollicitudinem—præstitit, ut, etc. Quintil. viii. pr. 20. Curam ego verborum, rerum volo esse sollicitudinem. (iv. 419.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativedolordolōrēs
genitivedolōrisdolōrum
dativedolōrīdolōribus
accusativedolōremdolōrēs
ablativedolōredolōribus
vocativedolordolōrēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

dolore affici
to feel pain.
dolori indulgere
to give way to grief.
dolori resistere
to struggle against grief.
cum magno meo dolore
to my sorrow.
dies dolorem mitigabit
time will assuage his grief.
dolore confici, tabescere
to be wasted with grief; to die of grief.
consolari dolorem alicuius
to soothe grief.
dolores remittunt, relaxant
the pain grows less.
11 more phrases
dolorem in lacrimas effundere
to find relief in tears.
acerbum dolorem alicui inurere
to cause any one very acute pain.
dolorem abicere, deponere, depellere
to banish grief.
dolorem alicui eripere (Att. 9. 6. 4)
to free a person from his pain.
dolorem capere (percipere) ex aliqua re
to be vexed about a thing.
dolor infixus animo haeret (Phil. 2. 26)
grief has struck deep into his soul.
callum obducere dolori (Tusc. 2. 15. 36)
to render insensible to pain.
dolorem alicui facere, afferre, commovere
to cause a person pain.
acer morsus doloris est (Tusc. 2. 22. 53)
the pain is very severe.
animus meus ad dolorem obduruit (Fam. 2. 16. 1)
I have become callous to all pain.
doloribus premi, angi, ardere, cruciari, distineri et divelli
to feel acute pain.

dŏlor, ōris, m. doleo,
I. pain, smart, ache (freq. and class.; for syn. cf.: aegrimonia, maeror, maestitia, luctus, plangor, tristitia, angor, anxietas, cura, sollicitudo).
I. Corporeal: dolor est motus asper in corpore, alienus a sensibus, Cic. Tusc. 2, 15: dolores atque carnificinas facere, Cato ap. Gell. 10, 3, 17: corporis, Lucr. 4, 1075: capitis, id. 6, 785: dentium, oculorum, id. 6, 660: pedum, Cic. Brut. 34, 130: articulorum, id. Att. 1, 5 fin.: laterum, Hor. S. 1, 9, 32 et saep.—Of the pangs of childbirth, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 33; id. Cist. 1, 2, 22: utero exorti dolores, id. Am. 5, 1, 40; cf. id. ib. 48; 3, 1, 19; id. Truc. 4, 3, 33 (with labor); Ter. And. 1, 5, 33 (with laborare); id. Ad. 3, 1, 2 al.—Comic., of the gripings in the stomach of a hungry person, Plaut. Stich. 1, 3, 11.—
II. Mental, as a general designation of every painful, oppressive feeling, pain, distress, grief, tribulation, affliction, sorrow, anguish, trouble, vexation, mortification, chagrin, etc. (syn. luctus): dolor (est) aegritudo crucians, Cic. Tusc. 4, 8, 18: si cadit in sapientem animi dolor, id. Lael. 13, 48: quanta est cura in animo, quantum corde capio dolorem, Plaut. Truc. 2, 5, 5; so with cura, Cic. Fam. 4, 6, 2: in labore atque in dolore, Plaut. Ps. 2, 3, 20: majorem laetitiam ex desiderio bonorum percepimus, quam ex laetitia improborum dolorem, Cic. Rep. 1, 4; cf. opp. laetatio, Caes. B. G. 5, 52 fin.: te dolorem, quem acceperis cum summi viri tum amicissimi morte, ferre moderate, Cic. Lael. 2, 8; cf. id. de Or. 2, 48 fin.; and: magno esse Germanis dolori Ariovisti mortem, Caes. B. G. 5, 29, 3; cf. also id. ib. 7, 38, 3: magnum et acerbum dolorem commovere, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 21 fin.: dolore angi, id. Fam. 4, 3; cf. id. Phil. 8, 6, 18. —
2. Esp., indignation, wrath, animosity, anger, resentment: sed ego in hac sententia dicenda non parebo dolori meo, non iracundiae serviam, Cic. Prov. Cons. 1, 2; cf. id. ib. 18, 44: et rei publicae injuriam et suum dolorem condonare, Caes. B. G. 1, 20, 5: qui accipit injuriam, et meminit et prae se fert dolorem suum, Cic. Off. 2, 22 fin.: magno dolore affici, Caes. B. G. 1, 2, 4; cf. id. ib. 5, 4 fin.; id. B. C. 2, 33, 1; cf. also: in eas (naves) indiligentiae suae ac doloris iracundia erupit, id. ib. 3, 8, 3: quis indomitas tantus dolor excitat iras? Verg. A. 2, 594; Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 60; id. Epod. 15, 15: amator agit ubi secum, Accedam? an potius mediter finire dolores, the torments of love, id. S. 2, 3, 263; cf. Ov. A. A. 2, 519; Prop. 1, 13, 9; 3, 20, 27 (4, 20, 17 M.) et saep.: Catonem veteres inimicitiae Caesaris incitant et dolor repulsae, Caes. B. C. 1, 4, 2; so, repulsae, Ov. M. 3, 395: injuriae, Liv. 1, 40: ignominiae, Suet. Vesp, 8: conjugis amissae, Ov. M. 7, 688 et saep.: justus mihi dolor etiam adversus deos esset, quod, etc., Tac. A. 2, 71.—Prov.: dolorem longa consumit dies, Sen. ad Marc. 8; cf.: dolor decrescit, ubi quo crescat non habet, Pub. Syr. 129 (Rib.).—
3. Terror, Amm. 14, 2, 15.—
B. Meton.
1. A grief, i. e. an object or cause of grief: illa (potest) etiam duris mentibus esse dolor, Prop. 1, 14, 18; Ov. P. 3, 3, 73.—
2. In rhet. lang. for the Gr. πάθος, passionate, warm expression; pathos, Cic. de Or. 3, 25; id. Brut. 24, 93; id. Or. 37, 130; id. de Or. 2, 17 fin.; Quint. 6, 2, 36.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*delh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dolh₁éyeti
  3. Proto-Italic*doleō
  4. Latindolor

Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin dolor From doleō + -or. Compare typologically Russian ломо́та (lomóta, “ache”) (from ломи́ть (lomítʹ, “to break”)).

Descendants
  • Catalandol
  • Catalandolor
  • Englishdol
  • Englishdolourfrom Old French dolor
  • Frenchdouleurfrom Old French dolor
  • Italiandolore
  • Occitandolorfrom Old Occitan dolor
  • Portuguesedorfrom Old Galician-Portuguese door
  • Romanianduroare
  • Romaniandolor

Quick answers

What does dolor mean in Latin?
dolor, a noun, means “pain, ache, hurt; anguish, grief, sorrow; indignation, resentment, anger, fury, vengeance”.
What is the genitive of dolor?
The genitive singular is dolōris. dolor is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce dolor?
In classical Latin, [ˈdɔ.ɫɔr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈdɔː.lor].
Where does dolor come from?
Proto-Indo-European *delh₁- → Proto-Indo-European *dolh₁éyeti → Proto-Italic *doleō → Latin dolor.