LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

impius

impius (feminine impia, neuter impium, comparative magis impius, superlative maximē impius or impiissimus or impīssimus or impientissimus, adverb impiē)
Classical[ˈɪm.pi.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈim.pi.us]

Meaning

  1. adjectivedisloyal, undutiful
    [...] et arma virī thalamō quae fīxa relīquit impius, exuviāsque omnīs, lectumque iugālem quō periī: superimpōnās [...].“And the man’s weapons that he left hanging in our bedchamber — [so] disloyal! — and all his clothes, and the bridal bed on which I was ruined: pile [everything] on top [of the pyre].” (Dido alludes with disdain to the epic’s recurrent epithet for its hero — e.g.: “Sum pius Aeneas,” 1.378 — now that this so-called dutiful man has abandoned her.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.495–497
  2. adjectivegodless, impious, unpatriotic
  3. adjectivedamned, accursed
  4. adjectivewicked
    leō rugiēns et ursus ēsuriēns prīnceps impius super populum pauperemAs a roaring lion, and a hungry bear, so is a wicked prince over the poor people. (trans.: Douay-Rheims Bible)c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.28.15

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Scelestus · Sceleratus · Nefarius · Nefandus · Impius

Scelestus (from scelus, σκληρός) has reference to the mind, like ad scelera pronus and promptus; whereas sceleratus, to actions, like sceleribus pollutus atque opertus. Hence the epithet sceleratus is applied to things, to porta, campus, vicus; and, in general, things can be called scelesta only by personification. In the like manner nefarius and impius as applied to the impiety of the person who acts, only with this distinction, that the impius is impious only in mind, the nefarius in his actions also; whereas nefandus refers to the horrible enormity of an action. (ii. 149.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeimpiusimpiaimpium
genitiveimpiīimpiaeimpiī
dativeimpiōimpiaeimpiō
accusativeimpiumimpiamimpium
ablativeimpiōimpiāimpiō
vocativeimpieimpiaimpium
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeimpiīimpiaeimpia
genitiveimpiōrumimpiārumimpiōrum
dativeimpiīsimpiīsimpiīs
accusativeimpiōsimpiāsimpia
ablativeimpiīsimpiīsimpiīs
vocativeimpiīimpiaeimpia

impĭus (inp-), a, um, adj. 2. in-pius,
I. without reverence or respect for God, one's parents, or one's country; irreverent, ungodly, undutiful, unpatriotic; abandoned, wicked, impious (rare but class.; cf.: nefarius, sacrilegus).
I. Lit.: me fugerat, deorum immortalium has esse in impios et consceleratos poenas certissimas constitutas, Cic. Pis. 20, 46: numero impiorum et sceleratorum haberi, Caes. B. G. 6, 13, 7; cf.: scelerosus atque impius, Ter. Eun. 4, 3, 1: (deos) piorum et impiorum habere rationem, Cic. Leg. 2, 7, 15: impius ne audeto placare donis iram deorum, id. ib. 2, 9, 22: dixerunt impium pro parricida, Quint. 8, 6, 30; 7, 1, 52: impius erga parentes, Suet. Rhet. 6: impium, qui dividere nolit cum fratre, Quint. 7, 1, 45: necesse est, iste, qui affinem fortunis spoliare conatus est, impium se esse fateatur, Cic. Quint. 6, 26: (Danaides) Impiae sponsos potuere duro Perdere ferro! Hor. C. 3, 11, 31: Titanes, id. ib. 3, 4, 42; cf.: cohors Gigantum, id. ib. 2, 19, 22: Saturnus, id. ib. 2, 17, 22: miles, Verg. E. 1, 71: Carthago, Hor. C. 4, 8, 17: gens, Verg. G. 2, 537: di, invoked in imprecations, Tac. A. 16, 31: poëtae, i. e. accursed, Cat. 14, 7: expiari impium non posse, Varr. L. L. 6, § 30 Müll.—Sup.: impiissimus filius, Dig. 28, 5, 46, § 1; Aus. Grat. Act. 17.—
II. Transf., of inanim. or abstr. things (mostly poet.): si impias propinquorum manus effugeris, Cic. Rep. 6, 12; so, manus, Hor. Epod. 3, 1: cervix, id. C. 3, 1, 17: pectora Thracum, id. Epod. 5, 13: ratis, id. C. 1, 3, 23; id. Epod. 10, 14: ensis, Ov. M. 14, 802: tura, id. H. 14, 26: Tartara, Verg. A. 5, 733: bellum injustum atque impium, Cic. Rep. 2, 17: caedes, Hor. C. 3, 24, 25: proelia, id. ib. 2, 1, 30: furor, Verg. A. 1, 294: facta, Ov. H. 10, 100: verba, Tib. 1, 3, 52: tumultus, Hor. C. 4, 4, 46: clamor, id. ib. 1, 27, 6: fama, Verg. A. 4, 298: vivacitas, Quint. 6 praef. § 3. — Prov.: Impia sub dulci melle venena latent, Ov. Am. 1, 8, 104.— Plur. as substt.
(a). impii, ōrum, m., wicked, abandoned men (opp. innoxii), Plaut. Rud. 1, 3, 11.—
(b). impĭa, ōrum, n., profane words, impious sayings: impia et illicita dicere, Gell. 1, 15, 17. —
B. In partic., impia herba, a plant, perh. the French everlasting, Gnaphalium Gallicum, Plin. 24, 19, 113, § 173.—Adv.: im-pĭē, irreligiously, undutifully, wickedly: quae (astra) qui videat, non solum indocte, sed etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget, Cic. N. D. 2, 16, 44: impie commissum, id. Leg. 2, 9, 22: impie ingratus esse, id. Tusc. 5, 2, 6: fecisti, Quint. 7, 1, 53: loqui, i. e. treasonably, Suet. Dom. 10: deserere regem, Curt. 5, 12.—Sup.: impiissime, Salv. de Avar. 3.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Italic*n̥-
  4. Latinimpius

Proto-Indo-European *pewH- Proto-Italic *pīosder. Latin pius Latin impius From in- + pius.

Descendants
  • Catalanimpiu
  • Englishimpious
  • Frenchimpie
  • Italianimpio
  • Italianempio
  • Portugueseímpio
  • Spanishimpío
  • Galicianimpío

Quick answers

What does impius mean in Latin?
impius, a adjective, means “disloyal, undutiful; godless, impious, unpatriotic; damned, accursed”.
How do you pronounce impius?
In classical Latin, [ˈɪm.pi.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈim.pi.us].
Where does impius come from?
Proto-Indo-European *né → Proto-Indo-European *n̥- → Proto-Italic *n̥- → Latin impius.