LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

fīlius

fīlius m (genitive fīliī or fīlī, feminine fīlia)
Classical[ˈfiː.li.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈfiː.li.us]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a son
    Ubī̆ est noster fīlius?Where is our son?
    Fílius meus ín me incedit [éccum] sat hilará schema.Caecilius Statius (died ca. 168 BC); in: Scaenicae romanorum poesis fragmenta secundis curis. Volumen II. Comicorum fragmenta. – Comicorum romanorum praeter Plautum et Terentium fragmenta secundis curis, edited by Otto Ribbeck, Leipzig, 1873, page 48
  2. broadlyany male descendant
  3. in pluralchildren

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

puer, quem pater et māter genuērunt.
fīlius -ī m — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia
a son
fīlius — in Seneca, ch. XX

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefīliusfīliī
genitivefīliī
fīlī		fīliōrum
dativefīliōfīliīs
fīlibus
accusativefīliumfīliōs
ablativefīliōfīliīs
fīlibus
vocativefīlī
fīlie		fīliī

fīlĭus, ii (voc. filie, Liv. Andr. in Prisc. p. 741 P.,
I. dat. plur. FILIBVS, Inscr. Grut. 553, 8; 554, 4, like DIIBVS from deus), m. root fev-o, to give birth to (fe-o), whence: fecundus, femina, felix, etc., lit., he who is born, a son (syn. plur.: nati, liberi).
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: Marci filius, Enn. ap. Cic. Brut. 15, 58 (Ann. v. 306 Vahl.); id. Rep. 2, 19; id. Lael. 1, 3: Venus et remisso filius arcu, i. e. Cupido, Hor. C. 3, 27, 68 et saep. —
B. In partic.: filius familias, or, in one word, filiusfamilias, v. familia.—
II. Transf.
A. With terra, fortuna, etc.: terrae filius, a son of mother earth, i. e. a man of unknown origin (opp.: nobilis, honesto genere natus): et huic terrae filio nescio cui committere epistolam tantis de rebus non audeo, Cic. Att. 1, 13, 4; id. Fam. 7, 9, 3; Pers. 6, 59; cf.: Saturnum Caeli filium dictum, quod soleamus eos, quorum virtutem miremur aut repentino advenerint, decaelo cecidisse dicere: terrae autem, quos ignotis parentibus natos terrae filios nominemus, Lact. 1, 11: fortunae filius, a child of fortune, fortune's favorite (Gr. παῖς τῆς Τύχης), Hor. S. 2, 6, 49; called also: gallinae albae filius, Juv. 13, 141: Celtiberiae filius, i. e. an inhabitant of Celtiberia, a Celtiberian, Cat. 37, 18.—
B. Filii, in gen., children: Συνεζευγμένον jungit et diversos sexus, ut cum marem feminamque filios dicimus, Quint. 9, 3, 63; Cic. ad Brut. 1, 12, 2; Gell. 12, 1, 21; cf. sing.: ut condemnaretur filius aut nepos, si pater aut avus deliquisset, Cic. N. D. 3, 38, 90.—
2. Descendants: natura docet parentes pios, filiorum appellatione omnes, quiex nobis descendunt, contineri: nec enim dulciore nomine possumus nepotes nostros, quam filii, appellare, Dig. 50, 16, 220, § 3.—
C. Of animals, Col. 6, 37, 4.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁(y)-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁ilyós
  3. Proto-Italic*θīlios
  4. Proto-Italic*fīlios
  5. Latinfīlius

Inherited from Proto-Italic *fīlios, *feilios (the Latin can reflect either one, but Faliscan 𐌅𐌉𐌋𐌄𐌏 (fīleo, hīleo), if original and not modeled on Latin fīlius, would point to *fīl-), from earlier *θeilios, from *dʰeh₁i-l-yo-s (“sucker”), a derivation from the verbal root *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suck”). Related to fellō, fēmina, fētus, Old English delu (“nipple, teat”), dēon (“to suck, suckle”), Old Armenian դալ (dal). More at doe.

Gallo-Romance
  • EnglishFitz-from Old French fil
  • Catalanfill
  • Occitanfilhfrom Old Occitan filh
  • Occitanfiufrom Old Occitan filh
  • Occitanhilhfrom Old Occitan filh
  • Franco-Provençalfely, fily
  • Bourguignonfifrom Old French fil
  • Walloonfifrom Old French fil
  • Middle Frenchfilzfrom Old French fil
  • Normanfilsfrom Old French fil
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesefilhofrom Old Galician-Portuguese filho
  • Spanishhijofrom Old Spanish fijo
  • Aragonesefillo
  • Mozarabicפליו
  • Falafillufrom Old Galician-Portuguese filho
  • Galicianfillofrom Old Galician-Portuguese filho
  • Asturianfíufrom Old Leonese fiyo
  • Asturianḥiyufrom Old Leonese fiyo
  • Asturianfiyufrom Old Leonese fiyo
  • Leonesefiyufrom Old Leonese fiyo
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianfiu
  • Aromanianhilj
  • Aromanianhiljiu
  • Aromanianhilju
  • Istro-Romanianfilj
  • Megleno-Romanianil'u
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianfiglio
  • Corsicanfigliu
  • Dalmatianfelj
  • Istriotfeîo
  • Istriotfèio
  • Judeo-Italianפִֿילְייוֹ
  • Sicilianfigghiu
  • Venetanfio
Insular Romance
  • Campidanesefillu
  • Nuoreseizufrom Logudorese fizu
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianfi
  • Romanshfigl
  • Romanshfegl
Gallo-Italic
  • Ligurianfìggio
  • Piedmontesefij

Quick answers

What does fīlius mean in Latin?
fīlius, a noun, means “a son; any male descendant; children”.
What is the genitive of fīlius?
The genitive singular is fīliī. fīlius is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce fīlius?
In classical Latin, [ˈfiː.li.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfiː.li.us].
Where does fīlius come from?
Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁(y)- → Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁ilyós → Proto-Italic *θīlios → Proto-Italic *fīlios → Latin fīlius.