LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

frūmentārius1

frūmentārius (feminine frūmentāria, neuter frūmentārium)
Classical[fruː.mɛnˈtaː.ri.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[fru.menˈtaː.ri.us]

Meaning

  1. adjectiverelationalof, related to or concerned with grain, corn
    Quam tu totam insulam cuidam tuorum sodalium sicut aliquod munusculum condonaras, ab hac etiam haec frumentaria lucra tamquam a mediterraneis exigebantur?70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.3.85
    L. Piso ille Frugi semper contra legem frumentariam dixerat. Is lege lata consularis ad frumentum accipiundum venerat. Animum advertit Gracchus in contione Pisonem stantem; quaerit audiente p. R., qui sibi constet, cum ea lege frumentum petat, quam dissuaserit.c. 45 BCE, Cicero, Tusculanae disputationes 3.48
  2. adjectiverelationalof, related to or concerned with supplying, foraging, producing or storing corn or (loosely, chiefly military) other provisions, food supplies
    rēs frūmentāriathe business of supplying with, or foraging for, corn; corn, food supplies (see pābulātiō)
    Habendam fortunae gratiam,[…]quod finitimas frumentariasque provincias in potestatem redegissent;c. 48 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello civili 3.73.3

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativefrūmentāriusfrūmentāriafrūmentārium
genitivefrūmentāriīfrūmentāriaefrūmentāriī
dativefrūmentāriōfrūmentāriaefrūmentāriō
accusativefrūmentāriumfrūmentāriamfrūmentārium
ablativefrūmentāriōfrūmentāriāfrūmentāriō
vocativefrūmentāriefrūmentāriafrūmentārium
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativefrūmentāriīfrūmentāriaefrūmentāria
genitivefrūmentāriōrumfrūmentāriārumfrūmentāriōrum
dativefrūmentāriīsfrūmentāriīsfrūmentāriīs
accusativefrūmentāriōsfrūmentāriāsfrūmentāria
ablativefrūmentāriīsfrūmentāriīsfrūmentāriīs
vocativefrūmentāriīfrūmentāriaefrūmentāria

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

inopia (opp. copia) rei frumentariae
want of corn; scarcity in the corn-market.
rem frumentariam comparare, providere
to look after the commissariat.
rei frumentariae prospicere (B. G. 1. 23)
to look after the commissariat.

frūmentārĭus, a, um, adj. id.,
I. of or belonging to corn, corn-; milit., of or belonging to provisions, provision-: ager, Varr. R. R. 1, 11, 2; cf. campus, id. ib. 1, 7, 9: res, corn, provisions, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 5, § 11; Caes. B. G. 1, 23, 1; 1, 37 fin. et saep.: loca, i. e. abounding in corn, id. ib. 1, 10, 2; cf. provinciae, id. B. C. 3, 73, 3; Cic. Att. 9, 9, 2: navis, a provision-ship, store-ship, Caes. B. C. 3, 96, 4: lex, respecting the distribution of grain at low rates, Cic. Tusc. 3, 20, 48; id. Sest. 48, 103; id. Brut. 62, 222; cf.: magna largitio C. Gracchi, id. Off. 2, 21, 72: causa, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 5, § 10: lucra, id. ib. 2, 3, 37, § 85: negotiatores, corn-dealers, Plin. 8, 44, 69, § 175: mensores, corn-measurers, Dig. 31, 1, 87.—
II. Subst.: frūmentāri-us, ii, m.
A. A corn-dealer: frumentarii, quibus cunctis montes maxumi frumenti sunt structi domi, Plaut. Ps. 1, 2, 54; Cic. Off. 3, 13, 57; 3, 16, 67; Liv. 4, 12, 10; 4, 15, 6 al. In the time of the emperors employed as a secret spy, Spart. Hadr. 11; Aur. Vict. Caes. 39 fin.; Capitol. Max. et Balb. 10, 3.—
B. Milit., a purveyor of corn, commissary of the stores, victualler, Hirt. B. G. 8, 35, 4; Inscr. Orell. 3491; 3515; 4922; cf. frumentator.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -ārius Latin frūmentārius From frūmentum + -ārius.

Descendants
  • Catalanfrumentari
  • Englishfrumentarious
  • Frenchfrumentaire
  • Italianfrumentario
  • Portuguesefrumentário
  • Galicianfrumentario

In English words that came into English from frūmentārius

  • frumentariousfrūmentārius
noun · masculinesecond declension
frūmentārius2
frūmentārius m (genitive frūmentāriī or frūmentārī)
Classical[fruː.mɛnˈtaː.ri.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[fru.menˈtaː.ri.us]

Meaning

  1. relationala grain-dealer; a retailer of grain
    Principio, Hedytium, tecum ago, quae amica es frumentariis, quibus cunctis montes maxumi [acervi] frumenti sunt domi:c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 1.2.56–57
    Non igitur videtur nec frumentarius ille Rhodios nec hic aedium venditor celare emptores debuisse.44 BCE, Cicero, De officiis 3.57
  2. relationala forager (soldier charged with finding food or supplies)
    Caninius celeriter cum cohortibus armatis ex proximis castellis in frumentarios sub ipsam lucem impetum fecit.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 8.35.4
  3. relationala member of the frūmentāriī (Roman intelligence agents, messengers and secret police)
    Neque minore studio pacis officia vincta legibus aequissimis ac remoto pestilenti frumentariorum genere, quorum nunc agentes rerum simillimi sunt.358 CE – 360 CE, Aurelius Victor, De Caesaribus 39.44
    Et erat curiosus non solum domus suae sed etiam amicorum, ita ut per frumentarios occulta omnia exploraret, nec adverterent amici sciri ab imperatore suam vitam, priusquam ipse hoc imperator ostenderet.4th century, Aelius Spartianus, Historia Augusta: Hadrianus 11

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefrūmentāriusfrūmentāriī
genitivefrūmentāriī
frūmentārī		frūmentāriōrum
dativefrūmentāriōfrūmentāriīs
accusativefrūmentāriumfrūmentāriōs
ablativefrūmentāriōfrūmentāriīs
vocativefrūmentāriefrūmentāriī

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -ārius Latin frūmentārius From frūmentum + -ārius.

Quick answers

What does frūmentārius mean in Latin?
frūmentārius, a adjective, means “of, related to or concerned with grain, corn; of, related to or concerned with supplying, foraging, producing or storing corn or (loosely, chiefly military) other provisions, food supplies”.
How do you pronounce frūmentārius?
In classical Latin, [fruː.mɛnˈtaː.ri.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [fru.menˈtaː.ri.us].