noun · neutersecond declension
ergastulum
ergastulum n (genitive ergastulī)
Classical[ɛrˈɡas.tʊ.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[erˈɡas.tu.lum]
Meaning
- neuterpenitentiary, workhouse (or its residents)
XV līberī hominēs populus est, totidem servī familia, totidem vīnctī ergastulum.
Fifteen free men are a people, as many slaves are a household, as many shackled men are a chain-gang.158 CE – 159 CE, Apuleius, Apologia sive pro se de magia 47 (nominative) - neuterslave prison
id cumulātum ūsūrīs prīmō sē agrō paternō avītōque exuisse, deinde fortūnīs aliīs; postrēmō velut tābem pervēnisse ad corpus; ductum sē ab crēditōre nōn in servitium, sed in ergastulum et carnificīnam esse.
He had first paid off the accumulated interest from his father's and grandfather's farm, then from other assets; finally, it had reached the very substance of his body, and he was led by the creditor not into servitude, but into a prison and a place of torture.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 2.23.6 (accusative, one other accusative occurrence in Livy)nōn cōnsōlābimur tam trīste ergastulum, nōn adhortābimur ferre imperia carnificum; ostendēmus in omnī servitūte apertam lībertātī viam.
We will not be consoled by such a gloomy prison, nor will we be urged to bear the orders of executioners; we will show in every servitude an open path to freedom.c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, De Ira 5.15.3 (nominative)
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Custodia · Carcer · Ergastulum
Custodia (from κεύθω) is the place where prisoners are confined, or the prison; carcer (κάρκαρον, redupl. of καρίς, circus), that part of the prison that is meant for citizens; ergastulum (from ἐργάζομαι, or εἴργω), the house of correction for slaves.
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | ergastulum | ergastula |
| genitive | ergastulī | ergastulōrum |
| dative | ergastulō | ergastulīs |
| accusative | ergastulum | ergastula |
| ablative | ergastulō | ergastulīs |
| vocative | ergastulum | ergastula |
ergastŭlum, i, n. ἐργάζομαι,
I. a workhouse for offenders (slaves, debtors, etc.), a house of correction, penitentiary.
I. Prop., Col. 1, 6, 3; 1, 8, 16; Cic. Clu. 7, 21; id. Rab. Perd. 7, 20; Liv. 2, 23; 7, 4; Suet. Aug. 32; id. Tib. 8 al.; Vulg. Exod. 6, 6 al.—
II. Transf., in plur., ergastula, ōrum, n. (like stabula, servitia, mancipia, etc.), the inmates of a workhouse, penitentiary convicts, * Caes. B. C. 3, 22, 2; Brutus ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 13, 2; Plin. 18, 6, 7, § 36; Flor. 4, 8, 1; Juv. 14, 24 al.—In the masc. sing.: ergastŭlus=ergastularius, a foreman in a workhouse, Lucil. ap. Non. 447, 7 sq.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
ergastulum ī, n
a workhouse, house of correction, penitentiary: homines ex ergastulis empti: ductus in ergastulum, L.—Plur, the inmates of a workhouse, penitentiary convicts: quibusdam solutis ergastulis, Cs.: inscripta, branded galleyslaves, Iu.
Origins
Probably from Ancient Greek ἐργαστήριον (ergastḗrion, “workshop”), from ἐργαστής (ergastḗs, “worker, employee”), from ἐργάζομαι (ergázomai, “to work, do labor”).
Descendants
- Italianergastolo
- Portugueseergástulo
- Spanishergástulo
- Sicilianergàstulu