LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

haruspex

haruspex m (genitive haruspicis)
Classical[haˈrʊs.pɛks]Ecclesiastical[aˈrus.peks]

Meaning

  1. masculinediviner who reads from the intestines of sacrificial animals; one who practices haruspicy

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

sacerdōs exta īnspiciēns
haruspex -icis (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 13

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeharuspex
aruspex		haruspicēs
aruspicēs
genitiveharuspicis
aruspicis		haruspicum
aruspicum
dativeharuspicī
aruspicī		haruspicibus
aruspicibus
accusativeharuspicem
aruspicem		haruspicēs
aruspicēs
ablativeharuspice
aruspice		haruspicibus
aruspicibus
vocativeharuspex
aruspex		haruspicēs
aruspicēs

hăruspex (ar-), ĭcis, m. Sanscr. hirā, entrails; Gr. χολάδες, χορδή; cf. hariolus, Georg Curtius Gr. Etym. p. 202 sq.,
I. a soothsayer, diviner among the Etruscans, who foretold future events from the inspection of the entrails of victims; from this people they were introduced among the Romans (syn.: hariolus, augur, auspex, extispex).
I. Lit.: haruspices mitte omnis, Plaut. Am. 5, 2, 2: quid enim habet haruspex, cur pulmo incisus etiam in bonis extis dirimat tempus et proferat diem? Cic. Div. 1, 39, 85; cf. id. N. D. 1, 20, 55: Etrusci haruspices, id. Div. 2, 35, 75; cf. id. Leg. 2, 9, 21; Gell. 4, 5, 5: cum haruspices ex tota Etruria convenissent, Cic. Cat. 3, 8, 19: Tyrrhenae gentis haruspex, Ov. M. 15, 577: quem (annum) saepe ex prodigiis haruspices respondissent bello civili cruentum fore, Sall. C. 47, 2; cf.: C. Mario per hostias dis supplicanti magna atque mirabilia portendi haruspex dixerat, id. J. 63, 1: dum sacra secundus haruspex Nuntiet, Verg. A. 11, 739: signaque ferre jubent: retinet longaevus haruspex Fata canens, id. ib. 8, 498; Macr. S. 3, 5, 1: qui de salute principis vel de summa rei publicae haruspices consulit, cum eo qui responderit, capite punitur, Paul. Sent. 5, 21, 3. Cf., on the haruspices, O. Müll. Etrusk. 2, p. 6 sq.—
II. Poet. transf., a prophet in gen.: utinam patriae sim vanus haruspex, etc., Prop. 3, 13 (4, 12), 59: Armenius vel Commagenus, Juv. 6, 550.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *haru-speks, from *speks. The first component may be related to hīra (“empty gut”); the second is from the root of speciō (“to observe, watch”). Compare Faliscan 𐌇𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌔𐌐(𐌄𐌗) (harisp(ex)). According to Nocentini the first part stems from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerH- (“intestine”) (thus *ǵʰr̥H-u- > *xaru-), whence also Latin hariolus, hernia (“hernia”). Cognate to Ancient Greek χορδή (khordḗ), Proto-Germanic *garnō (“intestines”) (whence German Garn) and to Lithuanian žarnà (“intestine”). The component -spex can also be found in the word auspex.

Descendants
  • Catalanharúspex
  • Englishharuspex
  • GermanHaruspex
  • Italianaruspice
  • Portuguesearúspice
  • Spanisharúspice
  • Finnishharuspeksi
  • Sicilianarùspici

In English words that came into English from haruspex

  • haruspexharuspex
  • haruspicyharuspicium

Quick answers

What does haruspex mean in Latin?
haruspex, a noun, means “diviner who reads from the intestines of sacrificial animals; one who practices haruspicy”.
What is the genitive of haruspex?
The genitive singular is haruspicis. haruspex is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce haruspex?
In classical Latin, [haˈrʊs.pɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [aˈrus.peks].