LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

histriō

histriō m (genitive histriōnis)
Classical[ˈhɪs.tri.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈis.tri.o]

Meaning

  1. An actor, player.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Actor · Comœdus · Ludio · Histrio

The generic term actor, and the specific terms comœdus and tragœdus, denote the player, as a respectable artist; but ludio, ludius, the comedian, the player, who makes acting his trade, with the accessory notion of commonness; lastly, histrio, sometimes the actor, sometimes the comedian, but mostly with the accessory notion of buffoonery and boasting. Cic. Sext. 54. Ipse ille maxime ludius, non solum spectator, sed actor et acroama. Rosc. Com. 10. Nemo ex pessimo histrione bonum comœdum fieri posse existimaret. Ep. ad Qu. Fr. i. a. E. Hortor ut tanquam poetæ boni et actores industrii solent, in extrema parte diligentissimus sis. Suet. Aug. 74. (v. 334.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehistriōhistriōnēs
genitivehistriōnishistriōnum
dativehistriōnīhistriōnibus
accusativehistriōnemhistriōnēs
ablativehistriōnehistriōnibus
vocativehistriōhistriōnēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

histrioni acclamare
to interrupt an actor by hooting him.
familia, grex, caterva histrionum
a theatrical company.
histrionem exsibilare, explodere, eicere, exigere
to hiss an actor off the stage.

histrio, ōnis, m. Etrusc. prim. form HISTER, Liv. 7, 2, 6; Val. Max. 2, 4, 4; whence histricus and histriculus,
I. a stage-player, actor, either tragic or comic (syn.: actor, mimus, tragoedus, comoedus).
I. Lit.: quod verbum in cavea dixit histrio, Plaut. Truc. 5, 39; Liv. 7, 2; Val. Max. 2, 4, 4; Cic. Fin. 3, 7, 24; id. Par. 3, 2, 26; id. de Or. 1, 5, 18; 1, 61, 258; id. de Sen. 19, 70; Plaut. Am. prol. 69; 77 sq.; id. Capt. prol. 13 et saep.: ex pessimo histrione bonum comoedum fieri, Cic. Rosc. Com. 10, 30; cf.: vidi ego saepe histriones atque comoedos, cum, etc., Quint. 6, 2, 35 Spald.: patina Aesopi tragoediarum histrionis, Plin. 35, 12, 46, § 163: M. Ofilius Hilarus comoediarum histrio, id. 7, 53, 54, § 185: tragicus, id. 10, 51, 72, § 141: quod non dant proceres dabit histrio, Juv. 7, 90.—*
II. Transf., a boaster: histrionis est parvam rem attollere, Cels. 5, 26, 1.

Origins

Unknown. Variant of hister, ister, which Livy in Ab urbe condita (7,2) claims to be an Etruscan word.

Descendants
  • Englishhistrion
  • Frenchhistrion
  • Italianistrione
  • Portuguesehistrião
  • Spanishhistrión

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesHistrioHistrio (ὑποκριτής), an actor. Greek The steps by which ὑποκρίνομαι, ὑποκριτὴς acquired their dramatic meaning have been variously traced. The primiti…

Quick answers

What does histriō mean in Latin?
histriō, a noun, means “An actor, player.”.
What is the genitive of histriō?
The genitive singular is histriōnis. histriō is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce histriō?
In classical Latin, [ˈhɪs.tri.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈis.tri.o].