LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

gurges

gurges m (genitive gurgitis)
Classical[ˈɡʊr.ɡɛs]Ecclesiastical[ˈɡur.d͡ʒes]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinewhirlpool, eddy
  2. masculinegulf
  3. masculineabyss
    Adsiliunt flūctūs, īmōque ā gurgite pontus vertitur, et cānās alveus haurit aquās.The waves leap up, the sea is churned from its lowest abyss, and the hull drinks the white waters. (trans. Anne and Peter Wiseman, 2011)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.591–592
  4. masculinepoeticthe sea, waters, stream
  5. figurativelymasculinean insatiable craving; (of people) a spendthrift

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

aqua alta quae sē in orbem vertit et rapit.
gurges -itis m — in Mille Verba, Mare et Nāvēs
aqua alta quae omnia vorat
gurges -itis (m) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2, 11, 23

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Vorago · Vortex · Gurges

Vorago (ὄρηχος) and the poetical word, of foreign origin, barathrum, denote an abyss in water, which may be either in a pool, pond, or sea; whereas vortex and gurges suppose water in motion; vortex moves in a horizontal direction, so that its water turns in a circle, and hinders whatever swims therein from escaping; gurges (from γοργός? or γύργαθος?), in a perpendicular direction, so that it drags down whatever comes into its eddy, into the depth below. Liv. xxviii. 30. Navis retro vortice intorta; compare with xxii. 6. Deficientibus animis hauriebantur gurgitibus. (v. 155.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativegurgesgurgitēs
genitivegurgitisgurgitum
dativegurgitīgurgitibus
accusativegurgitemgurgitēs
ablativegurgitegurgitibus
vocativegurgesgurgitēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

gurgitibus hauriri
to be drowned in the eddies.

gurges, ĭtis, m. v. gula; and cf. βάραθρον, vorago,
I. a raging abyss, whirlpool, gulf (syn.: vorago, barathrum).
I. Lit. (class.): non Rheni fossam gurgitibus illis redundantem, Cic. Pis. 33, 81: turbidus hic coeno vastaque voragine gurges Aestuat, Verg. A. 6, 296: multamque trahens sub gurgite arenam Volturnus, Ov. M. 15, 714: alterno procurrens gurgite pontus, Verg. A. 11, 624: per medios gurgites (opp. vada), Liv. 21, 5, 14: deficientibus animis hauriebantur gurgitibus, id. 22, 6, 7: caenosus, the Styx, Juv. 3, 266.—
II. Transf.
A. In gen., waters, stream, sea (poet.): fessos jam gurgite Phoebus Ibero Tingat equos, Verg. A. 11, 913: Euboicus, Ov. M. 9, 227: Carpathius, Verg. G. 4, 387: Atlanteus, Stat. Ach. 1, 223: Tusci, id. S. 4, 5, 4: gurgite ab alto, Verg. A. 6, 310; 7, 704: Herculeus, i. e. the Atlantic, beyond Gibraltar, Juv. 14, 280.—
B. Of insatiable craving, an abyss; of persons, a spendthrift, prodigal: qui immensa aliqua vorago est, aut gurges vitiorum turpitudinumque omnium, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 9, § 23; cf.: divitias in profundissimum libidinum gurgitem profundere, id. Sest. 43, 93: gurges ac vorago patrimonii, id. ib. 52, 111; cf.: ille gurges atque heluo, natus abdomini suo, id. Pis. 17, 41: Apicius, nepotum omnium altissimus gurges, Plin. 10, 48, 68, § 133.
Gurges, ĭtis, m.,
I. a surname.
I. Q. Fabius, Q. F. M. N. Gurges, Macr. S. 2, 9.—
II. Fabius Gurges, Juv. 6, 266.—
III. C. Volcatius Gurges, Plin. 7, 53, 54, § 181.

Origins

Possibly a reduplicated form of Proto-Indo-European *gʷerh₃- (“to devour”) (whence also vorō), though the sound change is questionable and the morphology is unclear. Compare Sanskrit गर्गर (gargara, “whirlpool, eddy; water-jar; subterranean drain”), Ancient Greek γόργυρα (górgura, “underground drain; water-pot; trough”), Proto-Celtic *brāgants (“neck; throat”) and English craw.

Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchgourfrom Old French gort
  • Englishgourfrom Old French gort
  • Catalangorg
  • Catalangorga
Italo-Romance
  • Italiangorgo
  • Italiangorgozza
  • Italiangorgozzo
Borrowings
  • Italiangurgite
  • Old Frenchgorge
  • Tunisian Arabicڤرجومة
Ibero-Romance
  • Galiciangorgozo

Quick answers

What does gurges mean in Latin?
gurges, a noun, means “whirlpool, eddy; gulf; abyss”.
What is the genitive of gurges?
The genitive singular is gurgitis. gurges is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce gurges?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡʊr.ɡɛs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɡur.d͡ʒes].