LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

incautus

incautus (feminine incauta, neuter incautum, comparative incautior)
Classical[ɪŋˈkau̯.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[iŋˈkaːu̯.tus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveincautious, heedless, reckless, unsuspecting, improvident, in one’s ignorance, not careful, careless
    [...] quālis coniectā cerva sagittā, quam procul incautam nemora inter Crēsia fīxit pāstor agēns tēlīs, [...].… like a deer, wounded by an arrow — an unsuspecting [creature] amid a Cretan woodland — that has been pierced [from] afar, [by] a shepherd, driving in [such] darts, ….29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.69-71
  2. adjectiveunforeseen, unexpected, unguarded against, off one’s guard

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeincautusincautaincautum
genitiveincautīincautaeincautī
dativeincautōincautaeincautō
accusativeincautumincautamincautum
ablativeincautōincautāincautō
vocativeincauteincautaincautum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeincautīincautaeincauta
genitiveincautōrumincautārumincautōrum
dativeincautīsincautīsincautīs
accusativeincautōsincautāsincauta
ablativeincautīsincautīsincautīs
vocativeincautīincautaeincauta

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

opprimere hostes (imprudentes, incautos, inopinantes)
to surprise and defeat the enemy.

in-cautus, a, um, adj.
I. Act., incautious, heedless, improvident, inconsiderate (class.; syn. improvidus): ut in ipsum incautum atque etiam imparatum incideret, Caes. B. G. 6, 30, 2; Cic. Rosc. Am. 7, 20: Trebonius oppressus est ab hoste incautus, id. Phil. 11, 2, 5; id. Planc. 22, 53; id. N. D. 2, 1, 1: minime incautus patronus, id. Brut. 70, 246: ab secundis rebus incauti, Liv. 5, 44, 6: ad credendum pavor, id. 9, 12, 8. — Comp.: incautior fuissem, nisi, etc., Cic. Fam. 9, 24, 1: juventa, Liv. 30, 13, 14. — Sup.: incautissimus quia credulus, Sid. Ep. 8, 11. —
(b). With ab, or the gen.: a fraude, Liv. 40, 5, 5: futuri, Hor. S. 1, 1, 35: sui, Stat. Th. 6, 766. —
II. Pass., not guarded against or that cannot be guarded against, unforeseen, unexpected, uncertain, dangerous (not in ante-Aug. prose): scelus, Lucr. 6, 390; cf.: sic est incautum quidquid habetur amor, Prop. 2, 4, 14 (v. 24 M.): quod neglexeris incautum at que apertum habes, Liv. 25, 38, 14: iter hostibus, Tac. A. 1, 50: sub ictu, Sil. 2, 99: tenebrae, Luc. 5, 500.— Hence, adv.: in-cautē, incautiously, inconsiderately: adhuc stulte omnia et incaute, Cic. Att. 7, 10: atque inconsulte pugnare. Liv. 7, 15, 9.— Comp.: quod paulo incautius custodias in muro dispositas videbat, Caes. B. G. 7, 27, 1: sequi, id. B. C. 3, 24, 2: subit murum, Liv. 21, 7, 10: potes apparatius cenare apud multos: nusquam hilarius, simplicius, incautius, more at ease, Plin. Ep. 1, 15, 4.— Sup.: ut se ipsos incautissime proderent, Aug. de Mor. Manich. fin.

Origins

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

Latin cautus Latin incautus From in- + cautus (“careful”).

Descendants
  • Catalanincaut
  • Italianincauto
  • Portugueseincauto
  • Spanishincauto

Quick answers

What does incautus mean in Latin?
incautus, a adjective, means “incautious, heedless, reckless, unsuspecting, improvident, in one’s ignorance, not careful, careless; unforeseen, unexpected, unguarded against, off one’s guard”.
How do you pronounce incautus?
In classical Latin, [ɪŋˈkau̯.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [iŋˈkaːu̯.tus].
Where does incautus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *né → Proto-Indo-European *n̥- → Proto-Italic *n̥- → Latin incautus.