LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

hasta1

hasta f (genitive hastae)
Classical[ˈhas.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈas.ta]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininea spear, lance, pike, carried by soldiers and used for thrusting
    Petere aliquem hastā.To attack someone with a spear.
    Victumne putāstī / Thēsea, dīre Creōn? Adsum, nec sanguine fessum / crēde; sitit meritōs etiamnum haec hasta cruōrēs.Did you think Theseus is defeated, cruel Creon? I am here, and do not believe I'm tired of blood, even my spear is still thirsty for righteous slaughter.c. 45 CE – 96 CE, Statius, Thebais 12.593–595

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tēlum longum quod manū tenētur vel mittitur.
hasta -ae f — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Missile · Hasta · Lancea · Jaculum · Verutum · Tragulum · Pilum

Missile is the most general name for a weapon used in fighting at a distance, from the spear to the arrow; hasta and lancea serve both for thrusting and hurling; hasta (from σχαστήριον, σχάζω,) as a genuine Roman weapon, δορύ; lancea, as a foreign weapon, supposed to have come originally from the Suevi, λόγχη; pilum, jaculum, verutum, are more for hurling; jaculum, as the most general expression, including the hunting spear, βέλος; verutum (from ὀρυχή) and tragulum (τρώγλη) military weapons for hurling, ἄκων; pilum (from πῆλαι) in the singular, as the peculiar weapon for hurling used by the Roman legion. Liv. ix. 19. Romano pilum haud paulo quam hasta vehementius ictu missuque telum.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehastahastae
genitivehastaehastārum
dativehastaehastīs
accusativehastamhastās
ablativehastāhastīs
vocativehastahastae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

eminus hastis, comminus gladiis uti
to use javelins at a distance, swords at close quarters.
libera corpora sub corona (hasta) veneunt (B. G. 3. 16. 4)
the free men are sold as slaves.

hasta (asta), ae, f. Sanscr. hastas, hand; cf. Gr. root χαδ- in χανδάνω, pre-hendo,
I. a spear (syn.: hastile, dolo, gaesum, sarisa, sparus, lancea, pilum, spiculum, telum, etc.).
I. Lit.
A. Most freq. as a military weapon, a lance, pike, javelin (cf. Becker's Antiq. III. 2, p. 242 sq.): nec eminus hastis aut comminus gladiis uteretur, Cic. de Sen. 6, 19: dum transit, striderat hasta, Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 817 P. (Ann. v. 365 Vahl.): Hastati spargunt hastas, id. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 287 ib.): evelli jussit eam, qua erat transfixus, hastam, Cic. Fin. 2, 30, 97: amentatus hastas torquebit, id. de Or. 1, 57, 242; cf. id. Brut. 78, 271; id. Top. 17, 65: hastas vibrare, id. de Or. 2, 80, 325: jactare, id. ib. 2, 78, 316: dirigere in aliquem, Ov. M. 8, 66: contendere, to hurl, Verg. A. 10, 521: protendere aut colligere, Tac. A. 2, 21 al.—As a symbol of war, sent in making a declaration of the same, Gell. 10, 27, 3; Paul. ex Fest. p. 101 Müll., and thrown into the enemy's territory, Liv 1, 32 fin.; Varr. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 9, 53: pura, i. e. without iron, given to brave soldiers as a mark of distinction, Plin. 7, 28, 29, § 102; Suet. Claud. 28; Inscr. Orell. 3457; cf. Varr. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 6, 760, and Fest. l. l.— As the symbol of legal ownership: festuca uti quasi hastae loco, signo quodam justi dominii, Gai Inst. 4, 16.—
2. Transf., beyond the milit. sphere: jacet, diffidit, abjecit hastas, i. e. has lost his courage, Cic. Mur. 21, 45.—
B. A spear stuck in the ground at public auctions or where the tribunals of the cenlumviri were held (orig. as a sign of booty gained in battle or of magisterial authority): est enim ausus (Sulla) dicere, hasta posita, cum bona in foro venderet et bonorum virorum et locupletium et certe civium praedam se suam vendere, Cic. Off. 2, 8, 27; cf.: hastam in foro ponere et bona civium voci subicere praeconis, id. ib. 2, 23, 83: hasta posita pro aede Jovis Statoris, bona voci acerbissimae subjecta praeconis, id. Phil. 2, 26, 64: quos non illa inflnita hasta satiavit, id. ib. 4, 4, 9: emptio ab hasta, id. Att. 12, 3, 2: comitibus eorum sub hasta venditis, Liv. 23, 38, 7: municipia Italiae splendidissima sub hasta venierunt, Flor. 3, 21, 27: just hastae, Tac. A. 13, 28: cum censores se jam locationibus abstinerent, convenere ad eos, qui hastae hujus generis assueverant, Liv. 24, 18, 10; as a badge of dignity: hunc miratur adhuc centum gravis hasta virorum, Mart. 7, 63, 7.—Hence, transf., the centumviral court: ut centumviralem hastam, quam quaestura functi consuerant cogere, decemviri cogerent, Suet. Aug. 36 fin.—
C. A little spear with which a bride's hair was parted into locks, Ov. F. 2, 560.—
D. A spear, as a gymnastic weapon, Plaut. Bacch. 1, 1, 38; 3, 3, 24; id. Most. 1, 2, 73.—
II. Transf.
A. Of the form of a comet: jubae effigies mutata in hasta est. Plin. 2, 25, 22, § 90.—
B. I. q. membrum virile, Auct. Priap. 45, 1.

Origins

Disputed. Michiel de Vaan suggests a possible Proto-Italic form Proto-Italic *hastā-. It is also conjectured to be from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰasto- or *ǵʰasdʰo- (“branch ~ spear, sharp spine”) (see below for Indo-European cognates), but the phonetics are problematic. Likely of ultimately non-Indo-European substrate origin. Cognates include Irish gad (“withe”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌶𐌳𐍃 (gazds, “spine, aculeus”) and Old Norse gaddr (“spear, goad”) (loaned into English as gad); the Celtic and Germanic forms point to a PIE pre-form *ǵʰasdʰo-. A relationship with Sanskrit हस्त (hasta, “hand”) (see hir) is unlikely. A relationship with Albanian heshtë, ushtë and shtijë (all meaning “spear”) is uncertain. Also compared to Umbrian hostatu (acc.pl.m.), hostatir (dat.pl.m), of unknown meaning, but the root vowel /o/ does not match the Latin /a/.

Descendants
  • Catalanast
  • Italianasta
  • Portuguesehasta
  • Portuguesehaste
  • Spanishasta
  • Asturianasta
  • Corsicanasta
  • Friulianaste
  • Galicianhasta
  • Lombardasta

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesHastaHasta (ἔγχος, παλτόν), a spear. The spear is defined by Homer, δόρυ χαλκῆπες, a pole fitted with bronze (Il. 6.3), and δόρυ χαλκοβάρες, a pole heavy w…
proper noun · femininefirst declension
Hasta2
Hasta f sg (genitive Hastae)
Classical[ˈhas.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈas.ta]

Meaning

  1. femininesingularAsti (a town in Piedmont, Italy)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeHasta—
genitiveHastae—
dativeHastae—
accusativeHastam—
ablativeHastā—
vocativeHasta—
locativeHastae—

Origins

From Latin hasta (“a spear”), which could have possibly been used as a phonetic match for Ancient Ligurian *ast (“hill”). The adjective Pompeia is thought to derive from Pompey.

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesHastaHasta (ἔγχος, παλτόν), a spear. The spear is defined by Homer, δόρυ χαλκῆπες, a pole fitted with bronze (Il. 6.3), and δόρυ χαλκοβάρες, a pole heavy w…

Quick answers

What does hasta mean in Latin?
hasta, a noun, means “a spear, lance, pike, carried by soldiers and used for thrusting”.
What is the genitive of hasta?
The genitive singular is hastae. hasta is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce hasta?
In classical Latin, [ˈhas.ta]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈas.ta].