LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

fūmus

fūmus m (genitive fūmī)
Classical[ˈfuː.mʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈfuː.mus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. smoke, steam, fume
    ‘Hīc, ubi disiectās mōlēs āvolsaque saxīs saxa vidēs mixtōque undantem pulvere fūmum, [...].’“‘Here, where piles [of masonry] have been scattered, and stones torn from stone, and you see billowing smoke mixed with dust, ….’” (The destruction of Troy.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 2.608–609
  2. indication, sign
    fūmus bonī iūrissign of good law

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod ex igne in caelum ascendit.
fūmus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Domus et Familia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativefūmusfūmī
genitivefūmīfūmōrum
dativefūmōfūmīs
accusativefūmumfūmōs
ablativefūmōfūmīs
vocativefūmefūmī

fūmus, i, m. Sanscr. dhū, dhumas, smoke; Zend. dun-man, vapor; Gr. θύω, to rage, sacrifice, θυμός, θῦμα, θύος, etc.; Goth. dauns, odor; Engl. dust; cf.: fūnus, fuligo,
I. smoke, steam, fume: in lignis si flamma latet fumusque cinisque, Lucr. 1, 871; cf. 1, 891; 4, 56: ibi hominem ingenuum fumo excruciatum, semivivum reliquit, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 17, § 45: castra, ut fumo atque ignibus significabatur, amplius milibus pass. VIII. in latitudinem patebant, Caes. B. G. 2. 7 fin.: tum fumi incendiorum procul videbantur, id. ib. 5, 48 fin.: significatione per castella fumo facta, id. B. C. 3, 65, 3: ater ad sidera fumus erigitur, Verg. A. 9, 239: pernas in fumo suspendito, Cato, R. R. 162, 3: fumo inveteratum vinum, Plin. 23, 1. 22, § 40; cf. Hor. C. 3, 8, 11; Col. 1, 6, 19 sq.; v. fumarium; hence, poet. transf.: fumi Massiliae, Marseilles wine mellowed in the smoke, Mart. 14, 118: in illo ganearum tuarum nidore atque fumo, Cic. Pis. 6, 13; cf.: intervenerant quidam amici, propter quos major fumus fieret, etc., Sen. Ep. 64, and Ter. Ad. 5, 3, 60: non fumum ex fulgore, sed ex fumo dare lucem Cogitat, Hor. A. P. 143.—In double sense: Ph. Oculi dolent. Ad. Quor? Ph. Quia fumus molestus est, smoke, i. e. foolish talk, Plaut. Most. 4, 2, 10. —
b. Prov.
(a). Semper flamma fumo est proxima: Fumo comburi nihil potest, flamma potest, i. e. the slightest approach to wrong-doing leads to vice, Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 53.—
(b). Tendere de fumo, ut proverbium loquitur vetus, ad flammam, to jump out of the frying-pan into the fire, Amm. 14, 11, 12; cf.: de fumo, ut aiunt, in flammam, id. 28, 1, 26.—
(g). Fumum or fumos vendere, i. e. to make empty promises, Lampr. Alex. Sev. 36; Mart. 4, 5, 7; App. Mag. p. 313, 31.—For which also: per fumum or fumis vendere aliquid, Capitol. Anton. 11; Lampr. Heliog. 10.—
II. Trop., like our word smoke, as a figure of destruction: ubi omne Verterat in fumum et cinerem, had reduced to smoke and ashes, i. e. had consumed, squandered, Hor. Ep. 1, 15, 39.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dʰewh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰuh₂mós
  3. Proto-Italic*θūmos
  4. Proto-Italic*fūmos
  5. Latinfūmus

Inherited from Proto-Italic *fūmos, from earlier *θūmos, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós (“smoke”). Cognates include Ancient Greek θῡμός (thūmós), Sanskrit धूम (dhūmá), Old Church Slavonic дꙑмъ (dymŭ), and English dust.

Descendants
  • Catalanfum
  • Englishfume
  • Italianfumo
  • Occitanfum
  • Occitanhum
  • Frenchfuméefrom Old French fumee
  • Portuguesefumofrom Old Galician-Portuguese fumo
  • Spanishhumofrom Old Spanish fumo
  • Spanishjumofrom Old Spanish fumo
  • Romanianfum

In English words that came into English from fūmus

  • fumefūmus
  • funkfūmicāre
  • fumigatefūmigātus
  • fumigationfumigatio
  • fumagefūmus
  • fumariumfūmārium
  • fumetfūmus
  • infumateinfumātus
  • fumiferousfumifer
  • fumousfūmōsus
  • femerellfūmus
  • fumarinefūmus

Quick answers

What does fūmus mean in Latin?
fūmus, a noun, means “smoke, steam, fume; indication, sign”.
What is the genitive of fūmus?
The genitive singular is fūmī. fūmus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce fūmus?
In classical Latin, [ˈfuː.mʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfuː.mus].
Where does fūmus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂mós → Proto-Italic *θūmos → Proto-Italic *fūmos → Latin fūmus.
Which English words come from fūmus?
English words that go back to Latin fūmus include fume, fumage, fumet, femerell, fumarine and fumigate.