LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

ēgregius

ēgregius (feminine ēgregia, neuter ēgregium, comparative magis ēgregius, superlative maximē ēgregius or ēgregiissimus or ēgregīssimus, adverb ēgregiē)
Classical[eːˈɡrɛ.ɡi.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[eˈɡrɛː.d͡ʒi.us]
№ 860 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectivedistinguished, excellent, eminent
    ad cētera ēgregiusoutstanding from every aspect
    atque ibi duos forte grammaticos conspicatus non parvi in urbe Roma nominis, certationi eorum acerrimae adfui; cum alter in casu vocativo vir egregi dicendum contenderet, alter vir egregie.Auli Gellii noctes atticae cum indicibus locupletissimis, Leipzig, 1870, page 328 containing Aulus Gellius' noctes atticae XIV, 5, 1 [a mentioning] and 3 [a usage]
  2. adjectiveillustrious, honorable

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī inter omnēs optimus stat; statua ēgregia.
ēgregius -a -um — in Mille Verba, Templum Graecum

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Eminens · Excellens · Præclarus · Præstans · Insignis · Singularis · Unicus

1. Eminens, excellens, præclarus, and præstans, involve a quiet acknowledgment of superiority; whereas egregius, with an expression of enthusiasm, like glorious; eximius, with an expression of admiration, like excellent. 2. Eximius, &c. relate altogether to good qualities, like superior, and can be connected with vices and faults only in irony; whereas insignis, singularis, and unicus, are indifferent, and serve as well to heighten blame as praise, like distinguished, matchless. (vi. 111.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeēgregiusēgregiaēgregium
genitiveēgregiīēgregiaeēgregiī
dativeēgregiōēgregiaeēgregiō
accusativeēgregiumēgregiamēgregium
ablativeēgregiōēgregiāēgregiō
vocativeēgregieēgregiaēgregium
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeēgregiīēgregiaeēgregia
genitiveēgregiōrumēgregiārumēgregiōrum
dativeēgregiīsēgregiīsēgregiīs
accusativeēgregiōsēgregiāsēgregia
ablativeēgregiīsēgregiīsēgregiīs
vocativeēgregiīēgregiaeēgregia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

adulescens bonae (egregiae) spei
a promising youth.
omnia de re publica praeclara atque egregia sentire
to have the good of the state at heart.
egregiam operam (multum, plus etc. operae) dare alicui rei
to expend great labour on a thing.

ē-grĕgĭus, a, um (
I. sup.: mulier egregiissimă formă, Pac. ap. Prisc. 3, p. 600 fin. P.; Rib. Fragm. Trag. p. 105: egregiissime grammatice, Gell. 14, 5, 3.—Vocat.: egregi or egregie, Gell. 14, 5, 1 sq.), adj. ex-grex, Corss. Ausspr. 1, 504; hence, chosen from the herd, i. e., distinguished, surpassing, excellent, eminent (for syn. cf.: praeclarus, eximius, divinus, magnificus).
I. In gen. (class.): in procuratione civitatis, egregius, Cic. de Or. 1, 49, 215; cf.: in bellica laude, id. Brut. 21, 84: in aliis artibus, Sall. J. 82, 2: vir, Cic. Lael. 19, 69: civis, id. Brut. 25, 95: poëta, id. de Or. 1, 3, 11: senatus, Liv. 2, 49: par consulum, id. 27, 34: Caesar, Hor. C. 1, 6, 11; 3, 25, 4 et saep.: et praeclara indoles ad dicendum, Cic. de Or. 1, 29; cf. id. Phil. 1, 1, 2; Tac. Or. 9: forma, Ter. And. 1, 1, 45; cf. facies, id. Phorm. 1, 2, 50: colores, odores, Lucr. 5, 739; Cic. Fin. 2, 20, 64: corpus, i. e. exceedingly beautiful, Hor. S. 1, 6, 67; Ov. Tr. 5, 13, 14: os, id. H. 4, 78 et saep.: virtus, Caes. B. G. 1, 28, 5: fides, id. ib. 1, 19, 2: voluntas in se, id. ib. 5, 4, 3: victoria, Liv. 2, 47 et saep.: vir bello egregius, Liv. 5, 47; cf. id. 7, 6; Tac. Agr. 14; Ov. M. 5, 49.—With gen.: animi, Verg. A. 11, 417; so, fati mentisque Stat. Th. 3, 99: linguae, Sil. 5, 77: egregii juvenum, Stat. Th. 2, 152.—In the neutr. subst.: ut alia magna et egregia tua omittam, Sall. J. 10, 2: postquam cuncta scelerum suorum pro egregiis accipi videt, for distinguished acts, Tac. A. 14, 60; cf. the foll.—
II. Post - Aug., esp. of rank and consequence, distinguished, illustrious, honorable: si te privatus adoptarem, et mihi egregium erat Gnaei Pompeii subolem in penates meos asciscere, et, etc., Tac. H. 1, 15; cf.: idque et sibi et cunctis egregium, id. A. 3, 6.—Subst.: ēgrĕgĭum, ii, n.: egregium publicum, the public honor, Tac. A. 3, 70 fin.—Hence, Egrĕgĭus, ii, m., a title of public officers in high station, similar to His Excellency, Cod. Th. 6, 22, 1; and: Vir Egregius, Inscr. Grut. 89, 4; 345, 3 et saep.; cf. Lact. 5, 14 fin.—Hence, adv.: ēgrĕgĭe, excellently, eminently; surpassingly, exceedingly, singularly; uncommonly well (cf.: eximie, unice, praesertim ; praecipue, maxime, potissimum, etc.).
(a). With verbs: studere (opp. mediocriter), Ter. And. 1, 1, 31: pingere, fingere, Cic. Brut. 73 fin.: loqui, id. Fin. 2, 6 fin.: vincere, brilliantly, Liv. 21, 40; cf. absolvi, id. 9, 26 et saep.—Far more freq.,
(b). With adjectives: egregie cordatus homo, Enn. ap. Cic. Rep. 1, 18 (Ann. v. 335 ed. Vahl.): fortis et bonus imperator, Cic. de Or. 2, 66, 268: subtilis scriptor, id. Brut. 9: munitum oppidum, Caes. B. G. 2, 29, 2; cf. id. ib. 5, 9, 4; 5, 11, 7 et saep.—
(g). Absol., as an expression of assent, applause, etc.: egregie, Caesar, quod lacrimas parentum vectigales esse non pateris, Plin. Pan. 38, 3; cf. Suet. Vit. 10.—Comp.: egregius cenat, Juv. 11, 12.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  2. Proto-Italic*eks
  3. Latinēgregius

Latin ex- Latin grex Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin ēgregius From ex- (“out of, outside of”) + grex (“herd”) + -ius, literally “outside of the herd”.

Descendants
  • Italianegregio
  • Portugueseegrégio
  • Romanianegregiu
  • Spanishegregio
  • Englishegregious
  • Swiss Frenchégrègefrom Middle French egrege
  • TranslingualVesposus egregius

In English words that came into English from ēgregius

  • egregiousēgregius

Quick answers

What does ēgregius mean in Latin?
ēgregius, a adjective, means “distinguished, excellent, eminent; illustrious, honorable”.
How do you pronounce ēgregius?
In classical Latin, [eːˈɡrɛ.ɡi.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [eˈɡrɛː.d͡ʒi.us].
Where does ēgregius come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs → Proto-Italic *eks → Latin ēgregius.