LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

hircus

hircus m (genitive hircī)
Classical[ˈhɪr.kʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈir.kus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea buck, male goat
  2. broadlymasculinethe rank smell of the armpits
    Sī cui iūre bonō sacer ālārum obstitit hircus,...If ever a good fellow was justly affected with the vile stench of the armpits,...
  3. figurativelymasculinea filthy person

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Caper · Hircus · Hœdus

Caper (κάπρος) is the general name for a he-goat, and that which is used in natural history, τράγος; hircus (from χήρ) is an old full-grown he-goat, χίμαρος? whereas hædus, hœdus (χοῖρος), a kid, ἔριφος. (v. 336.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehircushircī
genitivehircīhircōrum
dativehircōhircīs
accusativehircumhircōs
ablativehircōhircīs
vocativehircehircī

hircus (also hircŭus and ircus; cf. Quint. 1, 5, 20;
I. and the Sabine form, FIRCUS, Varr. L. L. 5, § 97 Müll.; cf. haedus init.), i, m., a he-goat, buck (cf. haedus, caper).
I. Lit., Verg. E. 3, 8; 91; id. G. 3, 312; Hor. Epod. 16, 34; id. A. P. 220 (Plin. 37, 4, 15, § 60: foedissimum animalium).—
II. Transf.
A. Like caper, a goatish smell, the rank smell of the armpits: hircum ab alis (sapere), Plaut. Ps. 2, 4, 48: alarum, Cat. 71, 1: an gravis hirsutis cubet hircus in alis, Hor. Epod. 12, 5: pastillos Rufillus olet, Gargonius hircum, id. S. 1, 2, 27; 1, 4, 92.—
B. An epithet applied to a filthy person: hircus, hara suis, Plaut. Most. 1, 1, 38: propter operam illius hirqui improbi edentuli, id. Cas. 3, 2, 20.—
C. Of voluptuous persons, id. Merc. 2, 2, 1; 4; Cat. 37, 5; Poët. Atell. ap. Suet. Tib. 45.

Origins

Unknown. As with other Indo-European words for “goat”, a reliable Proto-Indo-European etymon cannot be formally reconstructed. Nonetheless, compare Old High German irah, irh (“buck”), which Pokorny says is borrowed from the Latin. Possibly related to hirpus (“wolf”) and/or hirtus (“hairy, shaggy”); according to Pokorny, all three are from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰers- (“to bristle”). Varro, in De Lingua Latina cites a Sabine form: fircus.

Borrowings
  • Englishhircine
  • Englishhircinous
  • Englishhircose
  • Italianirco
  • Spanishhirco
  • Galicianhirco
  • Sicilianircu
Elsewhere
  • Catalanherc
  • Italianlercio
  • Italianricchione

Quick answers

What does hircus mean in Latin?
hircus, a noun, means “a buck, male goat; the rank smell of the armpits; a filthy person”.
What is the genitive of hircus?
The genitive singular is hircī. hircus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce hircus?
In classical Latin, [ˈhɪr.kʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈir.kus].