LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

īnfestus

īnfestus (feminine īnfesta, neuter īnfestum, comparative īnfestior, superlative īnfestissimus)
Classical[ĩːˈfɛs.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[iɱˈfɛs.tus]

Meaning

  1. adjectivehostile (to a person, cause etc.), antagonistic
  2. adjectivemarked by strife, troubled
  3. adjectiveaggressive, warlike; raised, threatening, poised to strike
  4. adjectiveharmful, troublesome
    si Romana arma omnibus infesta finitimis essentif the Roman army should be dangerous for all his neighbours27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.15
  5. adjectivedangerous, unsafe; infested [with ablative ‘with’]; adverse
  6. adjectiveexposed to danger, threatened, insecure

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

signīs ad pugnam versīs
with hostile standards, in battle array
īnfestīs signīs — in De Bello Gallico III, ch. 8

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Adversarius · Hostis · Inimicus

1. Adversarius is the generic term for every opposer, in the field, in politics, in a court of judicature, like ἀντιστάτης. Hostis (from ἔχθω) is ‘the enemy’ in the field, and war, opp. to pacatus. Cic. Rep. ii. 3. Sen. Q. N. vi. 7. like πολέμιος; inimicus, ‘an enemy’ in heart, opp. to amicus, like ἐχθρός. Cic. Man. 10. Pompeius sæpius cum hoste conflixit, quam quisquam cum inimico concertavit. Phil. xi. 1. Verr. i. 15. Curt. vii. 10. Liv. xxii. 39. Nescio an infestior hic adversarius, quam ille hostis maneat. 2. Hostilis and inimicus denote states of hatred become habitual qualities; infestus and infensus only as temporary states; infestus (ἀνασπαστός?) applies to a quiescent state of aversion, like disaffected, unkind, and thus it is applied to inanimate things that threaten hostility; infensus (from πένθος) denotes a passionate state of mind, like enraged, and is therefore applicable to persons only. Tac. Ann. xv. 28. Non infensum, nedum hostili odio Corbulonis nomen habebatur. Cic. Verr. iii. 24. Sall. Cat. 19. Sen. N. Q. iii. pr. Animus luxuriæ non adversus tantum, sed et infestus. Liv. ii. 20. Tarquinium infesto spiculo petit; Tarquinius infenso cessit hosti. (iv. 393.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeīnfestusīnfestaīnfestum
genitiveīnfestīīnfestaeīnfestī
dativeīnfestōīnfestaeīnfestō
accusativeīnfestumīnfestamīnfestum
ablativeīnfestōīnfestāīnfestō
vocativeīnfesteīnfestaīnfestum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeīnfestīīnfestaeīnfesta
genitiveīnfestōrumīnfestārumīnfestōrum
dativeīnfestīsīnfestīsīnfestīs
accusativeīnfestōsīnfestāsīnfesta
ablativeīnfestīsīnfestīsīnfestīs
vocativeīnfestīīnfestaeīnfesta

in-festus, a, um, adj. 2. in-festus for fenstus, from fendo; whence defendo, infensus,
I. made unsafe, disturbed, molested, infested; unquiet, unsafe (class.; cf. infensus).
I. Lit.: via excursionibus barbarorum infesta, Cic. Prov. Cons. 2, 4: iter, id. Phil. 12, 10: civitas, Liv. 3, 24: omnia infesta serpentibus, Sall. J. 89: sua tuta omnia, infesta hostium (omnia), Liv. 2, 49: vita, Cic. Rosc. Am. 11: infestum agrum reddere, to make unsafe, Liv. 2, 11: mare infestum habere, to disturb, render insecure, Cic. Att. 16, 1: infestam habere Macedoniam, Liv. 26, 24.—Comp.: infestior salus, Cic. Planc. 1: senectus, Liv. 1, 47. — Sup.: infestissima pars Ciliciae, Cic. Fam. 2, 10, 3.—
II. Transf., act., that renders unsafe, that acts in a hostile manner, hostile, inimical, troublesome, dangerous: irrupit in Galliam, quam sibi armis animisque infestam inimicamque cognovit, Cic. Phil. 10, 10, 21: provincia huic victoriae maxime infesta, id. Lig. 8, 24: gens infestissima nomini Romano, Sall. C. 52: pestis infesta rei publicae, Cic. Cat. 1, 5: infestus in cognatos, Auct. Her. 4, 40, 52: exercitu infesto in agrum Sabinum profecti, Liv. 2, 36; cf.: infestis signis impetum facere, Caes. B. C. 3, 93; so freq.: infestis signis, Cic. Font. 16; Caes. B. G. 6, 7; 7, 52; Liv. 2, 30 al.: infestis pilis procurrere, Caes. B. C. 3, 93: infestis pilis proturbare, Tac. H. 1, 31 fin.: infesto spiculo aliquem petere, Liv. 2, 20: infesta tela ferre, Verg. A. 5, 582: infestis oculis conspici, Cic. Cat. 1, 7, 17: infesta virtutibus tempora, Tac. Agr. 2: scelus, Cic. Clu. 66, 188: atque inimicus clamor, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 5: animo infestissimo aliquem intueri, id. ib. 2, 5, 55: bellum, Liv. 9, 12: missus morbus infesto a numine, Juv. 13, 231.—Hence, adv.: infestē, hostilely, violently, outrageously: quae illi infeste in nos fecerint, Liv. 26, 13, 7; Vell. 2, 45, 3. — Comp., Liv. 2, 55; 8, 33; 28, 29.— Sup., Cic. Quint. 21 (with inimicissime), Quint. 11, 8, 10.

Origins

Uncertain. Possibilities include: # Cognate with manifestus (“caught in the act”) by assuming a precedent sense “caught by hand”, and derived from a tentative -festus (“grabbing, attacking”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *dʰers- (“to be bold”). # Cognate with festīnō (“to hasten, accelerate”), cōnfestim (“immediately”) by assuming a precedent sense “rushing in”, from Proto-Italic *festis (“hurry”), which Schrijver derives from a root *bʰris-. This makes a connection with manifestus difficult. # From in- (“un-”) + Proto-Italic *festus (“asked for”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ-to-s, from *gʷʰedʰ- (“to request, ask for, pray”). Phonologically this assumes the ending -tus being analogically restored after *TT had shifted to *ss in Italic, as might be the case with fūstis.

Descendants
  • Spanishenhiestofrom Old Spanish enfiesto
  • Portugueseinfesto
  • AsturianL'Infiestu

Quick answers

What does īnfestus mean in Latin?
īnfestus, a adjective, means “hostile (to a person, cause etc.), antagonistic; aggressive, warlike; raised, threatening, poised to strike”.
How do you pronounce īnfestus?
In classical Latin, [ĩːˈfɛs.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [iɱˈfɛs.tus].