LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

īnfantia

īnfantia f (genitive īnfantiae)
Classical[ĩːˈfan.ti.a]Ecclesiastical[iɱˈfan.t͡si.a]

Meaning

  1. inability to speak, muteness, speechlessness; want of eloquence, ineloquence
  2. infancy, early childhood; the young, children
  3. childishness
    usquequō, parvulī, dīligitis īnfantiam, et stultī ea quæ sibi sunt noxia cupient, et imprūdentēs odībunt scientiamO children, how long will you love childishness, and fools covet those things which are hurtful to themselves, and the unwise hate knowledge? (Douay-Rheims trans., Challoner rev.; 1752 CE)c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Proverbs.1.22

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeīnfantiaīnfantiae
genitiveīnfantiaeīnfantiārum
dativeīnfantiaeīnfantiīs
accusativeīnfantiamīnfantiās
ablativeīnfantiāīnfantiīs
vocativeīnfantiaīnfantiae

infantĭa, ae, f. id.,
I. inability to speak.
I. Lit.: linguae, Lucr. 5, 1031.—
B. In partic., want of eloquence: infantia ejus, qui rem norit, sed eam explicare dicendo non queat, Cic. de Or. 3, 35, 142: incredibilis accusatorum, id. Att. 4, 16, 8: infantiae in dicendo, Quint. 5, 13, 38. —
II. Transf., infancy, early childhood: quantum in infantia praesumptum est temporis, adulescentiae acquiritur, Quint. 1, 1, 19: prima ab infantia, from earliest infancy, Tac. A. 1, 4: nostra infantia caelum hausit Aventini, Juv. 3, 85.— Of animals, the youth, etc.: asini, Plin. 8, 44, 69, § 171: cervi ab infantia educati, id. 10, 63, 83, § 182.— Of inanim. things: sed est sua ?*!etiam studiis infantia, Quint. 1, 1, 21: pomi, Plin. 15, 19, 21, § 80: vinum cum in infantia est, dulce, Macr. S. 7, 7.—
2. Second childhood, childishness: cum voce trementia membra . . . madidique infantia nasi, Juv. 10, 199. —
B. Collect., the young, children: irritandae ad discendum infantiae, Quint. 1, 1, 26: surculi infantiae adalligati, Plin. 32, 2, 11, § 24.

Origins

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

Latin fāns Latin īnfāns Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin īnfantia From īnfāns (“mute, speechless; young, little”) + -ia.

Descendants
  • Frenchenfance
  • Catalaninfància
  • Englishinfancy
  • Italianinfanzia
  • Portugueseinfância
  • Spanishinfancia
  • Galicianinfancia

In English words that came into English from īnfantia

  • infancyīnfantia

Quick answers

What does īnfantia mean in Latin?
īnfantia, a noun, means “inability to speak, muteness, speechlessness; want of eloquence, ineloquence; infancy, early childhood”.
What is the genitive of īnfantia?
The genitive singular is īnfantiae. īnfantia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce īnfantia?
In classical Latin, [ĩːˈfan.ti.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [iɱˈfan.t͡si.a].
Where does īnfantia come from?
Proto-Indo-European *né → Proto-Indo-European *n̥- → Proto-Italic *n̥- → Latin īnfantia.