LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

glaeba

glaeba f (genitive glaebae)
Classical[ˈɡɫae̯.ba]Ecclesiastical[ˈɡlɛː.ba]

Meaning

  1. feminineclod (lump of earth)
  2. feminineland, soil
    terra antīqua, potēns armīs atque ūbere glaebae“[Hesperia, i.e., Italy:] an ancient land, strong in war, and also rich with fertile soils.”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.531
  3. femininelump, mass of stuff

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

terra arābilis, solum
glaeba -ae (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 7

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeglaebaglaebae
glēbae
genitiveglaebae
glēbae		glaebārum
glēbārum
dativeglaebae
glēbae		glaebīs
glēbīs
accusativeglaebam
glēbam		glaebās
glēbās
ablativeglaebāglaebīs
glēbīs
vocativeglaebaglaebae
glēbae

glaeba (less correctly glēba), ae, f. cf. globus.
I. Prop., a small piece or lump of earth, a clod (cf. gramen, herba, faenum, caespes): ingens, Lucr. 6, 553: glaebis terrarum saepe friatis, id. 1, 887: fecundae, id. 1, 212; so Verg. G. 1, 94; Hor. C. 3, 6, 39: si glaebis aut saxis aut fustibus aliquem de fundo praecipitem egeris ... non esse arma cespites neque glaebas, etc., Cic. Caecin. 21, 60: omnes, qui ullam agri glaebam possiderent, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 11, § 28; so, nec ulli glaeba ulla agri assignaretur, Liv. 4, 11; cf. also: non adimi cuiquam glaebam, Cic. Agr. 3, 1, 3: nam priusquam in os injecta glaeba est, locus ille, ubi crematum est corpus, nihil habet religionis, id. Leg. 2, 22, 57; cf. Varr. L. L. 5, 4, 9, § 23; and Fest. s. v. praecidanea, p. 223: ex fundo glaeba sumebatur, Gai. Inst. 4, 17: ornare glaebam virentem, i. e. an altar built of turf, Juv. 12, 85; v. also glaebula.—
II. Transf.
A. Land, soil: terra antiqua potens armis atque ubere glaebae, Verg. A. 1, 531: glebae felices, App. M. p. 102, 7.—
B. Of other things, a piece, lump, mass: sevi ac picis glaebae, Caes. B. G. 7, 25; so, turis, Lucr. 3, 328; Stat. Th. 6, 60: marmoris, Plin. 36, 6, 8, § 50: salis, id. 31, 7, 39, ζ 73: sulphuris, id. 35, 15, 50, § 175: lactis, Nemes. Ecl. 3 fin.—
C. (Late Lat.), = pensio or canon praedio incumbens, a tax imposed upon the land of senators, Cod. Th. 6, 2, 10; ib. 12, 1, 138; Symm. Ep. 4, 61.

Origins

Traditionally considered somehow derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *gel- (“to form into a ball; ball”) and thereby cognate with globus, glomus, Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“mass, lump, clump; clasp”), Proto-West Germanic *klott (“clod”) and others, but the precise derivations of this form and its cognates are all uncertain. Alternatively (or additionally) related to Lithuanian glė́bti (“to embrace, clasp”) via an extended root *glebʰ-; however, this etymology only works if glēba is the older form.

Elsewhere
  • Sardinianliescafrom Vulgar Latin *glebescula
  • Englishglebe
  • Englishgleba
  • Italiangleba
  • Frenchglèbe
  • Portuguesegleba
  • Spanishgleba
  • Dalmatianglaiba
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalangleva
  • Auvergnatgłẹyvofrom Old Occitan gleva
  • Gascongléubofrom Old Occitan gleva
  • Gasconglebofrom Old Occitan gleva
  • Languedocienglẹbofrom Old Occitan gleva
  • Limousingłevofrom Old Occitan gleva
  • Vivaro-Alpinegle̢yvafrom Old Occitan gleva
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseleiva
  • Aragoneselleba
  • Galicianleiba
Insular Romance
  • Campidaneselea
  • Logudoresegreva
  • Nuoresecherba
Italo-Romance
  • Neapolitanglieva
  • Old Italianghieva
  • Old Italiangeva
  • Old Italianghiova
  • Old Italianchiova
  • Neapolitanłiva
  • Neapolitanddźifa
  • Neapolitanddźẹfe
  • Neapolitantśéifə
  • Neapolitanñifa
Gallo-Italic
  • Romagnolghieppa
  • Piedmontesedživa
Gallo-Romance
  • Auvergnatgliba
  • Auvergnatlhivo
  • Languedocienlibo

Quick answers

What does glaeba mean in Latin?
glaeba, a noun, means “clod (lump of earth); land, soil; lump, mass of stuff”.
What is the genitive of glaeba?
The genitive singular is glaebae. glaeba is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce glaeba?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡɫae̯.ba]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɡlɛː.ba].