adjectivefirst/second declension
extrēmus1
extrēmus (superlative, feminine extrēma, neuter extrēmum)
Classical[ɛkˈstreː.mʊs]Ecclesiastical[ekˈstrɛː.mus]
№ 385 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- superlativefarthest, outermost, extreme
Extrēmum oppidum Allobrogum est proximumque Helvētiōrum fīnibus Genāva.
The farthest town of the Allobroges, and nearest to the borders of the Helvetii, is Geneva.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.6 - superlativetemporalcoming at the end, last, final, ultimate
[…] ā quā nōn vērī simile est, cum cēterae partēs aetātis bene dēscrīptae sint, extrēmum āctum tamquam ab inertī poēta esse neglēctum. It is simply not likely that [nature], having composed the other acts of life’s drama so well, would have neglected the final act like some unskillful poet. (The phrase vērī simile — literally “similar to the truth” — is a Latin idiom for “likely” or “probable.”)
106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 2.5 - superlativeextreme in degree, intense
- superlativethe end, edge or tip of something:
extrēmus liber
the end of a bookextrēmī digitī
one's fingertips - superlativetemporalthe end, edge or tip of something:
extrēma ōrātiō
the end of an oration
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Extremus · Ultimus · Postremus · Novissimus
Extremus and ultimus denote the last in a continuous magnitude, in a space; extremus, the outermost part of a space, or of a surface, in opp. to intimus and medius, Cic. N. D. ii. 27, 54. Cluent. 65, like ἔσχατος; ultimus (superl. from ollus), the outermost point of a line, in opp. to citimus and proximus. Cic. Somn. 3. Prov. cons. 18. Liv. v. 38, 41, like λοῖσθος. Whereas postremus and novissimus denote the last in a discrete quantity, or magnitude consisting of separate parts, in a row of progressive numbers; postremus, the last in a row that is completed, in which it occupies the last place, in opp. to those that precede it, primus, princeps, tertius, like ὕστατος; whereas novissimus denotes the last in a row that is not complete, in which, as the last comer, it occupies the last place, in opp. to that which has none to follow it, but is last of all, like νέατος.
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | extrēmus | extrēma | extrēmum |
| genitive | extrēmī | extrēmae | extrēmī |
| dative | extrēmō | extrēmae | extrēmō |
| accusative | extrēmum | extrēmam | extrēmum |
| ablative | extrēmō | extrēmā | extrēmō |
| vocative | extrēme | extrēma | extrēmum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | extrēmī | extrēmae | extrēma |
| genitive | extrēmōrum | extrēmārum | extrēmōrum |
| dative | extrēmīs | extrēmīs | extrēmīs |
| accusative | extrēmōs | extrēmās | extrēma |
| ablative | extrēmīs | extrēmīs | extrēmīs |
| vocative | extrēmī | extrēmae | extrēma |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- extrema aetas
- the last stage of life, one's last days.
- ad extremum tumulum
- on the edge of the hill.
- exeunte, extremo anno
- at the end of the year.
- extremae terrae partes
- the most distant countries, the world's end.
- extremum tempus aetatis
- the last stage of life, one's last days.
- ad extrema perventum est
- affairs are desperate; we are reduced to extremeties.
- agmen novissimum (extremum)
- the rearguard.
- extremum vitae spiritum edere
- to give up the ghost.
8 more phrases
- ad extremum auxilium descendere
- to be reduced to one's last resource.
- in extremo libro (Q. Fr. 2. 7. 1)
- at the end of the book.
- extremis digitis aliquid attingere
- to touch with the fingertips.
- res ad extremum casum perducta est
- affairs are desperate; we are reduced to extremeties.
- plagam extremam or mortiferam infligere
- to inflict a death-blow.
- descendere ad extrema consilia (Fam. 10. 33. 4)
- to have recourse to extreme measures.
- extrema manus accēdit operi (active extremam manum imponere operi)
- to put the finishing touch to a work.
- repetere ab ultima (extrema, prisca) antiquitate (vetustate), ab heroicis temporibus
- to go back to the remote ages.
extrēmus, a, um, v. exter, III. A.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
extrēmus adj. sup.
exter, outermost, utmost, extreme, farthest, last : oppidum Allobrogum, Cs.: finis provinciae, L.: Indi, H.: in codicis extremā cerā: extremā lineā amare, i. e. to make love at a distance , T.: vinitor, i. e. at the end of his task , V.: cultores, in remotest lands , V.— The last part, end tip, extremity, boundary, surface (with a subst., denoting the whole): quibus (litteris) in extremis, at its end : in extremo libro tertio, at the end of : in extremo ponte, Cs.: cauda, tip , V.: extremis digitis aliquid attingere.—As subst n. : quod finitum est, habet extremum, an end : teretes, praeterquam ad extremum, at the end , L.: mundi: provinciae, Cs.: extrema agminis, L.—Of time or order, latest, last : mensis anni Februarius: finis vitae, L.: manus extrema non accessit operibus, finishing touches : extremum illud est, ut, etc., it remains only : ad extremam aetatem, old age , N.: extremo tempore, at last , N.: pueritia: extremo Peloponnesio bello, N.: Extremus galeāque imā subsedit Acestes, i. e. the lot of , V. — As subst m. : Extremi primorum, extremis usque priores, H.: Occupet extremum scabies, devil take the hindmost , H.—As subst n. : die extremum erat, S.: extremo anni, L.: in extremum (durare), O.: ad extremum incipit philosophari, at last : testis ad extremum reservatus, to the last : Extrema gemens, for the last time , V.— Fig., utmost, highest, greatest, extreme : fames, Cs.: ad extrema iura decurrere: extremae dementiae est (with infin.), the height of madness , S.: in extremis suis rebus, utmost danger , Cs. — As subst n. : audendi extrema cupido, V.: ad extrema ventum foret, ni, etc., L.: res p. in extremo sita, S.: non ad extremum perditus, utterly , L.— Last, least, lowest, meanest : Haud Ligurum, V.: ignis, flickering , V.: extremi ingeni est, qui, etc., L.
Origins
From earlier *extrezmo- < *exterezemo- < *exterisemo-, from Proto-Italic *eksterisemos. Equivalent to exter + -ēmus. Same development as postrēmus and suprēmus. Compare with extimus.
Descendants
- Catalanextrem
- Englishextreme
- Frenchextrêmefrom Middle French extreme
- Romanianextremfrom Middle French extreme
- Germanextrem
- Italianestremo
- Italianstremo
- Portugueseextremo
- Spanishextremo
- Galicianextremo