habeō

Meaning

1. to have, hold
   Spērō ut pācem semper habeant.I hope that they always have peace.
   Ō̆ dī immortālēs! ubinam gentium sumus? in quā urbe vīvimus? quam rem pūblicam habēmus?O immortal gods! Where on earth are we? In what city are we living? What kind of government do we have?63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.9
2. to own, have (possessions)
   Cavē, catapultam habeō!Beware, I have a catapult!
   mea quidem haec habeō omnia meō pecūliō ēmpta.I genuinely own all these things, bought with my own savings.c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 4.7.1188
3. to possess, have (qualities)
   Annōs vīgintī habet.He is twenty years old.
   trīgintā ... annōs habēreto be thirty years oldc. 95 CE, Quintilianus, Institutio oratoria 6.3.73
4. to retain, maintain
5. to conduct, preside over
   Urbem Romam a principio reges habuere.In the beginning kings ruled Rome.c. 105–116, Tacitus, Ab excessu divi Augusti (Annales), volume I, section 1:
6. to regard, consider or account a person or thing as something
   in numerō habēreto rank
   […]pro indignissimo habuerant se patrio regno tutoris fraude pulsos[…] They had considered it most cruel that they’d been removed from their father’s throne by the treachery of their guardian.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.40
7. rareto accept, bear, endure, suffer
   ‘Bene eveniat!’, inquit Carneades spurce, sed tamen prudentius quam Lucius noster et Patron, qui, cum omnia ad se referant, numquam quicquam alterius causa fieri putent et, cum ea re bonum virum oportere esse dicant, ne malum habeat, non quo(d) id natura rectum sit, non intellegant se de callido homine loqui, non de bono viro.50 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 7.2.4
   Non ita est neque cuiquam mortalium iniuriae suae parvae videntur; multi eas gravius aequo habuere.c. 42 BCE, Gaius Sallustius Crispus, Bellum Catilinae 51.11
8. to affect, trouble (someone)
   Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam ciuitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita recepta inclinatura rursus animos uidebatur ad ueteris imperii respectum.This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerful, in the same way that it had attracted the support of a number of communities by its revolt, was thought would again turn attention back towards respect for the previous government once recaptured.27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 26.1
9. to enjoy, have, possess
   Libertas […] longo post tempore venit,Freedom […] came after a long delay, ever since Amaryllis enjoys me, and Galatea has left me.c. 41 BCE – 39 BCE, Vergilius, Eclogae 1
   Ferreus ille fuit, qui, te cum posset habere,He was made of iron, he who, when he could have had you, stupidly preferred to chase after spoils and weapons.c. 27 BCE, Albius Tibullus, Elegiae 1.2.65-6
10. ambitransitiverareto live, dwell somewhere; to inhabit some place
    Vbi nunc adulescens habet?Where now lives the youth?c. 195 BCE, Plautus, Trinummus 1.2.156
    Haec sunt aedes, hic habet;Lesbonico est nomen. (please add an English translation of this quotation)c. 195 BCE, Plautus, Trinummus 2.2.115–116
11. Late LatinMedieval Latinauxiliaryto have
    Nec in publico vestimenta lavare, nec berbices tondere habeant licitumThey haven't allowed clothes to be washed in public, neither to shave sheep
    Illud sacramentum quod juratum habeoThe oath that I have sworn
12. Late LatinMedieval Latinpresentwith infinitiveto want; will, shall, should
    Feri eum adhuc, nam si non feriveris, ego te ferire habeoHit him again, for if you don't, I shall hit you
    Currens affer illum ad me, ego enim eum habeo baptizareBring him to me quickly, I will baptize him
13. Late LatinMedieval Latinimperfectpastwith infinitivewould
    Sanāre tē habēbat Deus per indulgentiam, sī fatērēris.354 CE – 430 CE, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis, Sermōnēs CCLIII.253
14. Late LatinMedieval Latinto have to; to be compelled
    Ā patriā Cathalōniae sē absentāre habuērunt, et in fugam sē cōnstituērunt, ne justitia dē ipsis fieretThey had to leave from the land of Cathalonia, and decided to escape, so that justice would not be made of them
15. Medieval Latinthere be
    Habet in Spīnogilō mānsum dominicātum cum casā et aliīs casticiīs sufficienterThere is a lord's villa in Spinogilo with a house and other buildings

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Conjugation conjugation 2

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

sic habeto

convince yourself of this; rest assured on this point.

usu cognitum habemus

we know from experience.

tum habebam decem annos

I was ten years old at the time.

virtus hoc habet, ut...

this is a characteristic of virtue, it...

res ita (aliter) se habet

the matter stands so (otherwise).

pecuniam in nominibus habeo

I have money owing me.

non habeo, qui (unde) vivam

I have no means, no livelihood.

res habet aliquid offensionis

there is something repulsive about the thing.

Origins

1. Proto-Indo-European*gʰeh₁bʰ-
2. Proto-Indo-European*gʰh₁bʰéh₁yeti
3. Proto-Italic*haβēō
4. Latinhabeō

From Proto-Italic *habēō or *haβēō; the latter, from earlier *haβējō, may be from *gʰeh₁bʰ-éh₁-ye-ti, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰeh₁bʰ- (“to grab, to take”). Compare Old Irish gaibid (“takes, holds”), Polish gabać (“to accost, sue”). As such, it was long thought to be related to English give, though more recent research has placed this in doubt. Despite similarity in meaning and form, habeo is unrelated to English have, which is, rather, cognate with Latin capiō (“to take”). Oscan and Umbrian have cognate forms with -b-, which must reflect an original *-b-, because Proto-Italic *-β- (and therefore PIE *-bʰ-) becomes -f-, not -b-, in those languages. On the other hand, *b is a seldom-attested phoneme in PIE, whose status is still disputed. Thus, the exact origin of this word is not clear. Among the oldest attestations are the works of Plautus (circa 254 to 184 BC) and the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus (186 BC). Umbrian cognate hab- is attested in the Iguvine Tablets (oldest tablets 3rd century BC). Oscan cognate haf- is attested in the Tabula Bantina (89 BC). When used as a future in Late Latin and subsequently Romance, the pronunciation evolved into /ˈaβjo/ > /ˈajo/.

In English words that came into English from habeō

• behaviorhabeō
• ablehabilis
• habithabitus
• debtdēbita
• abilityhabilitās
• exhibitexhibitus
• duedēbeō
• inhabitantinhabitāns
• inhabitinhabitāre
• prohibitionprohibitiō
• prohibitprohibeō
• debitdebitum
• habitualhabituālis
• habitathabitat
• inhibitinhibitus
• inhibitioninhibitio
• habitationhabitātiōnem
• cohabitcohabitō
• habitablehabitābilis
• binnaclehabitāculum
• prohibitiveprohibitīvus
• habitushabitus
• habilehabilis
• exhibitorexhibitor

Related words