LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

fiscus

fiscus m (genitive fiscī)
Classical[ˈfɪs.kʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈfis.kus]

Meaning

  1. masculinebasket
  2. masculinepurse
  3. masculinetreasury; public money
  4. Classical Latinmasculinethe assets bound to the function of the emperor

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Ærarium · Fiscus

Ærarium is ‘the public treasury;’ fiscus (from πίθος, πιθάκνη), ‘the imperial treasury.’ Tac. Ann. vi. 2. Bona Sejani ablata ærario, ut in fiscum cogerentur; tanquam referret! (vi. 10.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefiscusfiscī
genitivefiscīfiscōrum
dativefiscōfiscīs
accusativefiscumfiscōs
ablativefiscōfiscīs
vocativefiscefiscī

fiscus, i, m.,
I. a basket or frail woven of slender twigs, rushes, etc. (like fiscina, fiscella, q. v.); used,
I. For olives in the oilpress, Col. 12, 52, 22; 54, 2.—Far more freq.,
II. For keeping money in, a money-basket, or, as we say, a money-bag, purse (cf. aerarium): fiscos complures cum pecunia Siciliensi a quodam senatore ad equitem Romanum esse translatos, Cic. Verr. 1, 8, 22: mulus ferebat fiscos cum pecunia, Phaedr. 2, 7, 2; Suet. Claud. 18.—Poet.: aerata multus in arca Fiscus, i. e. much money, Juv. 14, 259.—
B. In partic.
1. The public chest, state treasury, public revenues: quaternos HS, quos mihi senatus decrevit et ex aerario dedit, ego habebo et in cistam transferam de fisco, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 85, § 197: qui fiscum sustulit, id. ib. 79, § 183: de fisco quid egerit Scipio, quaeram, id. Q. Fr. 3, 4, 5 Manut.; Eutr. 2, 16; Vulg. 1 Esdr. 7, 20. —
2. In the times of the emperors, the imperial treasury, imperial revenues, emperor's privy purse (opp. aerarium, the public chest or treasury): quantum pecuniae in aerario et fiscis et vectigalibus residuis, Suet. Aug. 101; 40; id. Claud. 28; id. Ner. 32; Sen. Ben. 7, 6: fisci de imperatore rapti, Tac. A. 1, 37: bona in fiscum cogere, id. ib. 6, 2; Dig. 39, 4, 9 fin.: fortasse non eadem severitate fiscum quam aerarium cohibes, Plin. Pan. 36 et saep.: Judaicus, the tax paid by the Jews into the imperial treasury, Suet. Dom. 12: quidquid conspicuum pulchrumque est aequore toto res fisci est, Juv. 4, 55.

Origins

Unknown. De Vaan rejects connections with findō (“to cleave”) and fidēlia (“earthen pot”); Beekes mentions obliquely the rhyme with rarer riscus, a likely Celtic borrowing into Latin and Greek.

Descendants
  • Catalanfisc
  • Englishfisc
  • Englishfiscus
  • Frenchfisc
  • Romanianfiscfrom French fisc
  • GermanFiskus
  • Italianfisco
  • Portuguesefisco
  • Spanishfisco
  • Russianфискfrom French fisc

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesFiscusFiscus In the republican period there was only one public treasury, the Aerarium populi Romani, or Aerarium Saturni, as it was called. On the establis…

Quick answers

What does fiscus mean in Latin?
fiscus, a noun, means “basket; purse; treasury”.
What is the genitive of fiscus?
The genitive singular is fiscī. fiscus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce fiscus?
In classical Latin, [ˈfɪs.kʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfis.kus].