LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

exercitus

exercitus m (genitive exercitūs)
№ 267 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. abstractmasculineexercise
    Piscatores: ex urbe ad mare huc prodimus pabulatum:c. 211 BCE, Plautus, Rudens 2.1.7–8
    Eheu, huic illud dolet, quia nunc remissus est edendi exercitus. ― Nullumne interea nactu's, qui posset tibic. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 1.2.43–46 (here used as a springboard for a wordplay on the double meaning of exercitus)
  2. abstractmasculinetrouble, affliction
    Noli, obsecro, lacrumis tuis mi exercitum imperare.c. 203 BCE, Plautus, Cistellaria 1.1.56
  3. concretemasculinean exercised, disciplined body of men, an army
    Dīmīsitque eōs, et perrēxērunt ad locum īnsidiārum, sēdēruntque inter Bethel et Hāī, ad occidentālem plāgam urbis Hāī: Jōsue autem nocte illā in mediō mānsit populī, surgēnsque dīlūculō recēnsuit sociōs, et ascendit cum seniōribus in fronte exercitūs, vāllātus auxiliō pugnātōrum.And he sent them away, and they went on to the place of the ambush, and abode between Bethel and Hai, on the west side of the city of Hai. But Josue stayed that night in the midst of the people, And rising early in the morning, he mustered his soldiers, and went up with the ancients in the front of the army environed with the aid of the fighting men.4th century AD, St. Jerome, Vulgate, Book of Joshua 8.9–10 (Trans. Douay-Rheims Bible, Challoner rev. Link to Josue (Joshua) Chapter 8 in parallel Latin Vulgate & English Douay-Rheims)
  4. concretemasculinethe assembly of the people in the Comitia Centuriata, as being a military organization
  5. concretemasculinepoetica multitude, host, swarm, flock
  6. concretemasculinea troop, body of attendants

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

multae legiōnēs cum ūnō duce; exercitus Rōmānus.
exercitus -ūs m — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma
army
exercitus -ūs — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23, 26

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Exercitus · Copiæ

Exercitus is an army that consists of several legions; but copiæ mean troops, which consist of several cohorts.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeexercitusexercitūs
genitiveexercitūsexercituum
dativeexercituīexercitibus
accusativeexercitumexercitūs
ablativeexercitūexercitibus
vocativeexercitusexercitūs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

exercitus victor
the victorious army.
praeesse exercitui
to be at the head of an army.
dimittere exercitum
to disband an army.
procedere cum exercitu
to advance with the army.
parare exercitum, copias
to equip an army, troops.
praeficere aliquem exercitui
to place some one at the head of an army, give him the command.
frumentum providere exercitui
to provide corn-supplies for the troops.
alere exercitum (Off. 1. 8. 25)
to support an army.
11 more phrases
agmen, exercitum demittere in...
to march down on to...
exercitum admovere, adducere ad...
to advance on...
hostes, exercitum delere, concīdere
to annihilate, cut up the enemy, an army.
exercitum conficere (Imp. Pomp. 21. 61)
to raise an army.
exercitum educere or producere in aciem
to lead the army to the fight.
exercitum in naves imponere (Liv. 22. 19)
to embark an army.
ingens, maximus exercitus (not numerosus)
a numerous army.
milites (exercitum) scribere, conscribere
to levy troops.
milites mercennarii or exercitus conducticius
mercenary troops.
recensere, lustrare, recognoscere exercitum (Liv. 42. 31)
to review an army.
aciem (copias, exercitum) instruere or in acie constituere
to draw up forces in battle-order.

exercĭtus, a, um, Part. and P. a., from exerceo.
exercĭtus, ūs (
I. gen. sing. exerciti, Naev. ap. Charis. p. 103 P.; Att. Trag. Fragm. 150, 311 (Rib. p. 155, 177); Varr. ap. Non. 485, 16 sq. EXERCITVIS, acc. to Non. ib. 11, without example. EXERCITVVS, Inscr. Orell. 4922.—Dat.: exercitu, Caes. B. C. 3, 96; Liv. 9, 5; 9, 41; 22, 1 al.), m. exerceo. *
I. Lit., exercise: pro exercitu gymnastico et palaestrico, etc., Plaut. Rud. 2, 1, 7.—
B. Transf., concr., in milit. lang., an exercised, disciplined body of men, an army (syn.: agmen, acies, phalanx, caterva, manus, legiones): exercitum non unam cohortem neque unam alam dicimus, sed numeros multos militum. Nam exercitui praeesse dicimus eum, qui legionem vel legiones administrat, Dig. 3, 2, 2: horrescit telis exercitus asper utrimque, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 4 (Ann. v. 385, ed. Vahl.); Enn. Ann. 14, 13: exercitum comparare, Cic. Phil. 4, 3, 6: abire in exercitum, Plaut. Am. prol. 102; 125: venire ab exercitu, id. ib. 140: adesse ad exercitum, id. ib. 1, 3, 6: e castris educere exercitum, id. ib. 1, 1, 61 (cf.: ex oppido legiones educere, id. ib. v. 63); cf.: exercitum conscribere, comparare, id. ib. 5, 13, 36: parare, Sall. C. 29, 3: scribere, Liv. 2, 43, 5: conficere, Cic. Phil. 5, 16, 43; id. de Imp. Pomp. 21, 61: facere, id. Phil. 5, 8, 23: conflare, id. ib. 4, 6, 15: contrahere, Caes. B. G. 1, 34, 3: cogere, id. ib. 3, 17, 2; Sall. J. 10, 4: ducere, Cic. Mur. 9, 20: ductare, Sall. C. 11, 5; 17, 7: transducere, Caes. B. G. 1, 13, 1 et saep.—As a land army, in opposition to a naval army or fleet: eodem tempore et exercitus ostendebatur et classis intrabat portum, Liv. 26, 42, 2. As infantry, in opposition to cavalry: (Caesar) exercitum equitatumque castris continuit, Caes. B. G. 2, 11, 2; 7, 61, 2; 1, 48, 4; Liv. 30, 36, 8; 40, 52, 6; cf. Drak. id. 28, 1, 5.—
2. Transf.
(a). The assembly of the people in the Centuria Comitiata, as being a military organization, Varr. L. L. 6, 9, § 88; cf. Gell. 15, 27 fin.; Plaut. Capt. 1, 2, 50; 52.—
(b). Poet., in gen., a multitude, host, swarm, flock: corvorum, Verg. G. 1, 382; id. A. 5, 824; Sil. 11, 413.—
(g). A troop, body of attendants, etc.: huic illut dolet, quia remissus est edundi exercitus, Plaut. Capt. 1, 2, 50: remissum imperare exercitum, id. ib. v. 52.—*
II. (Acc. to exerceo, II. C.) Trouble, affliction: Noli, obsecro, lacrimis tuis mihi exercitum imperare, Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 60.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
  3. Proto-Italic*eks
  4. Latinexercitus

Latin ex- Proto-Indo-European *h₂erk- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *h₂orkéyeti Proto-Italic *arkeō Latin arceō Latin exerceō Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin exercitus From exerceō (“to occupy oneself, oversee; work at, practice, exercise”) + -tus (action noun forming suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalanexèrcit
  • Italianesercito
  • Portugueseexército
  • Sardinianesértzitu
  • Spanishejércitofrom Old Spanish exército
  • Asturianexércitu
  • Friulianesercit
  • Galicianexército
  • Piedmonteseesèrcit
  • Malteseeżerċtufrom Sicilian esèrcitu

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesExercitusExercitus (στρατός), army. Greek The earliest notices which we possess of the military art among the Greeks are those contained in the Homeric poems. …

Quick answers

What does exercitus mean in Latin?
exercitus, a noun, means “exercise; trouble, affliction; an exercised, disciplined body of men, an army”.
What is the genitive of exercitus?
The genitive singular is exercitūs. exercitus is masculine, fourth declension.
Where does exercitus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ → Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰs → Proto-Italic *eks → Latin exercitus.