LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension one-termination adjective

duplex

duplex (genitive duplicis, adverb dupliciter)
Classical[ˈdʊ.pɫɛks]Ecclesiastical[ˈduː.pleks]

Meaning

  1. one terminationtwofold; two; double
    Duplex omnīnō est iocandī genus, ūnum illīberāle, petulāns, flāgitiōsum, obscēnum, alterum ēlegāns, urbānum, ingeniōsum, facētum.In all, there are two kinds of joking: one ignoble, irreverent, shameful, obscene; the other elegant, refined, ingenious, witty. (literally, “In all, the kind of joking is twofold: …”)44 BCE, Cicero, De officiis 1.104
    [...] Eumenidum velutī dēmēns videt agmina Penthēus, et sōlem geminum et duplicīs sē ostendere Thēbās [...]. Just as the deranged Pentheus sees the ranks of Eumenides, and a twin sun, and Thebes to show herself twofold. (Variant accusative plural: duplicīs. For context, see: The Bacchae.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.469–470
  2. one terminationbipartite; cloven
  3. one terminationambiguous

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Duplex · Duplum · Geminus · Dupliciter · Bifariam

1. Duplex (δίπλαξ) denotes double, as distinct magnitudes to be counted: duplum (διπλοῦν) as continuous magnitudes to be weighed or measured. Duplex is used as an adjective, duplum as a substantive. Quintil. viii. 6, 42. In quo et numerus est duplex et duplum virium. 2. In duplex (as in διπλοῦς), doubleness is the primary, similarity and equality the secondary notion; in geminus (as in δίδυμος), the notion of similarity and equality is the primary, that of doubleness the secondary one. In Cic. Part. 6. Verba geminata et duplicata vel etiam sæpius iterata; the word geminata refers to the repetition of the same notion by synonymes; duplicata to the repetition of the same word. 3. Dupliciter is always modal; in two different manners, with double purpose; bifariam is local, in two places, or two parts. Cic. Fam. ix. 20. Dupliciter delectatus sum literis tuis; compare with Tusc. iii. 11. Bifariam quatuor perturbationes æqualiter distributæ sunt. (v. 281.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeduplexduplexduplex
genitiveduplicisduplicisduplicis
dativeduplicīduplicīduplicī
accusativeduplicemduplicemduplex
ablativeduplicī
duplice		duplicī
duplice		duplicī
duplice
vocativeduplexduplexduplex
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeduplicēsduplicēsduplicia
genitivedupliciumdupliciumduplicium
dativeduplicibusduplicibusduplicibus
accusativeduplicīs
duplicēs		duplicīs
duplicēs		duplicia
ablativeduplicibusduplicibusduplicibus
vocativeduplicēsduplicēsduplicia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

agmine duplici, triplici
in two, three columns.
duplex est memoria de aliqua re
a twofold tradition prevails on this subject.
aemulatio dupliciter dicitur, ut et in laude et in vitio hoc nomen sit
the word aemulatio is employed with two meanings, in a good and a bad sense.

dū^plex, ĭcis (abl. commonly duplici;
I. duplice, Hor. S. 2, 2, 122), adj. duo-plico, twofold, double.
I. Lit.: et duplices hominum facies et corpora bina, Lucr. 4, 452; cf. aër (with geminus), id. 4, 274: cursus (with duae viae), Cic. Tusc. 1, 30: pars (opp. simplex), Quint. 8, 5, 4; cf. id. 4, 4, 5: modus (opp. par and sesquiplex), Cic. Or. 57, 193 et saep.: duplici de semine, Lucr. 4, 1229: quem locum duplici altissimo muro munierant, Caes. B. G. 2, 29, 3: fossa duodenūm pedum, id. ib. 7, 36 fin.: vallum, id. B. C. 3, 63, 3: rates, id. ib. 1, 25, 6: tabellae, consisting of two leaves, Suet. Aug. 27: dorsum, consisting of two boards, Verg. G. 1, 172: acies, Caes. B. G. 3, 24, 1; id. B. C. 1, 83, 1; 3, 67, 3 al.; cf. proelium, Suet. Aug. 13: seditio, id. Tib. 25: triumphus, id. Dom. 6: cura, id. Tib. 8 et saep.—Prov.: duplex fit bonitas, simul accessit celeritas, who gives promptly gives twice, Pub. Syr. 141 (Rib.).—
B. Transf.
1. Of things made double by being divided into two, cloven, bipartite, double: ne duplices habeatis linguas, ne ego bilingues vos necem, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 7; cf. id. As. 3, 3, 105: ficus, Hor. S. 2, 2, 122; Plin. 20, 6, 23, § 52; Veg. Vet. 2, 10, 6 (1, 38, p. 265 Bip; cf. id. 1, 56, p. 281 Bip.): folia palmae, Plin. 16, 24, 38, § 90: lex, Quint. 7, 7, 10.—
2. Poet., like the Gr. διπλοῦς, of things in pairs, for ambo or uterque, both: oculi, Lucr. 6, 1145: palmae, Verg. A. 1, 93; cf. Ov. Am. 3, 327.—
3. Opp. to single, like the Gr. διπλοῦς and our double, for thick, strong, stout: clavi, Cato R. R. 20: amiculum, Nep. Dat. 3; cf. pannus, Hor. Ep. 1, 17, 25: fenus, Prop. 3 (4), 1, 22.(for which: magnum fenus, Tib. 2, 6, 22). —
4. With quam in post-Aug. prose, for alterum tantum, twice as much as, Col. 1, 8, 8: duplex quam ceteris pretium, Plin. 19, 1, 2, § 9; Quint. 2, 3, 3.
II. Trop.
1. Of words, of a double sense, ambiguous: verba dubia et quasi duplicia, Quint. 9, 2, 69.—
2. In poets, like the Gr. διπλοῦς, of character, qs. double-tongued, double-faced, i. e. false, deceitful: Ulixes, Hor. C. 1, 6, 7: Amathusia, Cat. 68, 51; so, animo, Vulg. Jacob. 1, 8; 4, 8.—Adv.: dū^-plĭcĭter, doubly, on two accounts, Lucr. 6, 510; Cic. Ac. 2, 32, 104; id. Fam. 9, 20: res conscriptae, ambiguously, Arn. 5, p. 182; Vulg. Sirach, 23, 13.

Origins

Equivalent to duo (“two”) + -plex (“-fold”). Possibly inherited from Proto-Italic *dupleks, if Umbrian 𐌕𐌖𐌐𐌋𐌀𐌊 (tuplak) is cognate (however, its meaning is uncertain and its form poses some difficulty). The Italic form may be an analogical alteration (with the du- of duo replacing *dwi-) of an original Proto-Indo-European *dwi-pleḱ-s; compare Ancient Greek δίπλαξ (díplax).

Descendants
  • Englishduplex
  • Frenchduplex
  • Romanianduplexfrom French duplex
  • Italianduplice
  • Italianduplex
  • Spanishdúplex
  • Welshdyblygfrom Proto-Brythonic *dublɨg
  • Dutchduplex

Quick answers

What does duplex mean in Latin?
duplex, a adjective, means “twofold; two; double”.
How do you pronounce duplex?
In classical Latin, [ˈdʊ.pɫɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈduː.pleks].