LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

grex

grex m (genitive gregis)
Classical[ˈɡrɛks]Ecclesiastical[ˈɡrɛks]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinea group of smaller animals: a flock (of birds, sheep, etc.), a pack (of dogs, wolves, etc.), a swarm (of insects), etc.
  2. figurativelymasculinea similar group of other things
  3. masculinea group of people: a crowd, a clique, a company, a band, a troop, etc.
  4. masculinea team of charioteers.
  5. masculinea troupe of actors.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

multae ovēs vel caprae ūnā; pāstor gregem dūcit.
grex gregis m — in Mille Verba, Rūs et Agrīcultūra
multitūdō ovium
grex gregis (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 8

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Pecus · Jumentum · Armentum · Grex

1. Pecus, pecoris, is the most general expression for domestic beasts; jumenta and armenta denote the larger sort, bullocks, asses, horses; pecus, pecudis (from the Goth. faihu) the smaller sort, swine, goats, and especially sheep. 2. Jumenta denotes beasts used in drawing carriages, bullocks, asses, horses; armenta (ἀρόματα) beasts used in ploughing, oxen and horses, with the exclusion of cows, pack-asses, riding-horses, etc., which are neither fit for drawing carriages, nor for the plough. 3. As a singular and collective noun, armentum denotes a herd or drove of the larger cattle, like ἀγέλη; grex (from ἀγείρω) a herd or flock of the smaller animals, like ποίμνη, πῶϋ. Plin. Ep. ii. 16. Multi greges ovium, multa ibi equorum boumque armenta (iv. 298.)

Caterva · Cohors · Agmen · Grex · Globus · Turba

Caterva, cohors, and agmen, denote an assembled multitude in regular order, and caterva, as a limited whole, according to a sort of military arrangement; cohors, as respecting and observing the leadership of a commanding officer; agmen, as a solemn procession; whereas turba, grex, and globus, denote a multitude assembled in no regular order, grex, without form or order; turba, with positive disorder and confusion; globus, a thronging mass of people, which, from each person pressing towards the centre, assumes a circular form. (v. 361.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativegrexgregēs
genitivegregisgregum
dativegregīgregibus
accusativegregemgregēs
ablativegregegregibus
vocativegrexgregēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

dominus gregis
the manager.
pascere gregem
to feed a flock (of goats).
familia, grex, caterva histrionum
a theatrical company.
greges pascuntur (Verg. G. 3. 162)
the herds are grazing.

grex, grĕgis, m. (
I. fem., Lucil. ap. Charis. p. 72 P.; Lucr. 2, 662; Inscr. ap. Maff. Mus. Veron. 127, 4) [Sanscr. root jar-, come together; Gr. ἀγείρω, ἀγορά], a flock, herd, drove, swarm (cf.: armentum, jumentum, pecus).
I. Lit., of animals: pecudes dispulsae sui generis sequuntur greges, Cic. Att. 7, 7, 7; cf.: greges armentorum reliquique pecoris, id. Phil. 3, 12, 31: nobilissimarum equarum, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 7, § 20: asinorum, Varr. R. R. 2, 6, 2: lanigeri, Verg. G. 3, 287: vir gregis ipse caper, id. E. 7, 7; cf.: dux gregis, i. e. a bull, Ov. A. A. 1, 326: elephantorum, Plin. 5, 1, 1, § 5: porcorum, Juv. 2, 80: pavonum, Varr. R. R. 3, 6, 2: anserum, id. ib. 3, 10, 1: anatum, id. ib. 3, 11, 1: avium, Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 19.—Opp. to armenta, of small cattle: non ego sum pastor, non hic armenta gregesve, Ov. M. 1, 513; 4, 635; Tib. 1, 5, 28.—Prov.: grex totus in agris Unius scabie cadit, Juv. 2, 79. —
II. Transf.
A. Of a number of persons, in a good or bad sense, a company, society, troop, band, crowd.
1. In gen.: in hunc igitur gregem P. Sullam ex his honestissimorum hominum gregibus reicietis? Cic. Sull. 28, 77: amicorum, id. Att. 1, 18, 1; cf.: scribe tui gregis hunc, i. e. receive him into the number of your friends, Hor. Ep. 1, 9, 13: philosophorum, Cic. de Or. 1, 10, 42: ille virorum (of the Fabians), Sil. 7, 58: Cethegus libertos suos orabat, uti grege facto cum telis ad se irrumperent, i. e. in a body, Sall. C. 50, 2; id. J. 58, 3: quos respexit rex grege facto venientes, Liv. 8, 24, 13: ne servi quidem uno grege profugiunt dominos, i. e. all together, Curt. 10, 2, 12: ego forsitan propter multitudinem patronorum in grege annumerer, Cic. Rosc. Am. 32, 89: Epicuri de grege porcus, Hor. Ep. 1, 4, 16: grex contaminatus turpium virorum, id. C. 1, 37, 9: venalium, Plaut. Cist. 4, 2, 67: indocilis, Hor. Epod. 16, 37: cum populum gregibus comitum premit spoliator, Juv. 1, 46.—
2. In partic., of players or charioteers, a company, troop, band: si voltis adplaudere hunc gregem et fabulam, Plaut. Ps. 5, 2, 33; id. Cas. prol. 22; Ter. Heaut. prol. 45; id. Phorm. prol. 32; Petr. 80; Inscr. Grut. 1024, 5; Inscr. ap. Marin. Frat. Arv. p. 257.—
B. Of things (very rare): virgarum, a bundle of rods, Plaut. Ps. 1, 3, 99.

Origins

Uncertain. De Vaan 2008 reconstructs Proto-Italic *gʷregs and Proto-Indo-European *gʷreg- (“group, herd”), and assumes it is cognate to Khotanese [script needed] (haṃ-grīs, “to gather, assemble”). A variant form of the same root, *g(ʷ)reg(ʷ)-, may possibly be the source of Ancient Greek γάργαρα (gárgara, “heaps, lots (of people, etc.)”) and Lithuanian gurguole (“mass, crowd”) and gurgulys (“chaos, confusion”). In contrast, Beekes views the Greek and Lithuanian terms as independent onomatopoeic formations, not cognates of each other. Matasović 2009 alternatively reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *greg- (“group, herd”), suggesting this comes from Proto-Indo-European *ger- or Proto-Indo-European *h₂ger- (“gather”). This reconstruction is based on treating grex and γάργαρα (gárgara) as cognates to Welsh gre (“herd”) and Old Irish graig (“horses”), from Proto-Celtic *gregi-: this cannot be inherited from a root starting with *gʷr-, since that would yield Proto-Celtic *br- (as in Proto-Celtic *brātus). However, it is debated whether the Celtic terms are cognate to or borrowed from Latin grex. Schrijver considers a connection with *h₂ger- doubtful but not completely impossible. Compare gremium and Proto-Germanic *krimmaną as other potential derivatives of *h₂ger-. Another potential cognate is Old Church Slavonic гръсть (grŭstĭ, “handful”).

Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesegreifrom Old Galician-Portuguese gree
  • Spanishgreyfrom Old Spanish grey
  • Galiciangreifrom Old Galician-Portuguese gree
  • Galiciangreafrom Old Galician-Portuguese gree
  • Old Leonesegree
Elsewhere
  • Italiangreggiofrom Vulgar Latin *gregius
  • Italiangrezzofrom Vulgar Latin *gregius
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianarréi
Italo-Romance
  • Italiangregge
  • Middle Frenchgregefrom Italian gregge
Borrowings
  • Englishgrex
  • Albaniangrigjë
  • Albaniangrigj
  • Irishgraífrom Old Irish graig
  • Manxgriaghfrom Old Irish graig
  • Scottish Gaelicgreighfrom Old Irish graig
  • Bretongrefrom Proto-Brythonic gre
  • Cornishgrefrom Proto-Brythonic gre
  • Welshgrefrom Proto-Brythonic gre
Gallo-Romance
  • Old Occitangrec
  • Old Occitangrei
  • Old Occitangrey

Quick answers

What does grex mean in Latin?
grex, a noun, means “a group of smaller animals: a flock (of birds, sheep, etc.), a pack (of dogs, wolves, etc.), a swarm (of insects), etc.; a similar group of other things; a group of people: a crowd, a clique, a company, a band, a troop, ”.
What is the genitive of grex?
The genitive singular is gregis. grex is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce grex?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡrɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɡrɛks].