LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension one-termination adjective

ingēns

ingēns (genitive ingentis, comparative ingentior, superlative ingentissimus)
Classical[ˈɪŋ.ɡẽːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈin̠ʲ.d͡ʒens]
№ 202 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. one terminationhuge, vast, enormous
  2. one terminationimmoderate, exorbitant
  3. one terminationextraordinary, unnatural
  4. figurativelyone terminationmighty, powerful

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tam magnus ut mīrēmur; statua ingēns.
ingēns ingentis — in Mille Verba, Templum Graecum

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Magnus · Grandis · Amplus · Ingens · Immanis · Vastus

1. Magnus, grandis, and amplus, denote a becoming greatness; ingens, immanis, and vastus, an overwhelming greatness. Sen. Ir. i. 16. Nec enim magnitudo ista est, sed immanitas. Cic. Læl. 26. 2. Magnus (from μέγα, mactus,) denotes greatness without any accessory notion, in opp. to parvus, like μέγας; whereas grandis, with the accessory notion of intrinsic strength and grandeur, in opp. to exilis, Sen. Ep. 100; subtilis, Quintil. xii. 10, 58; tumidus, in the same book, § 80; minutus, Cels. ii. 18; exiguus, Quintil. xi. 3, 15; lastly, amplus (adj. from ambi) with the accessory notion of comeliness, and of an imposing impression. 3. Ingens (ἄγονος) denotes excessive greatness merely as extraordinary, like ἄπλετος; immanis (ἀμήχανος) as exciting fear, like πελώριος; vastus (from vagus?) as wanting regularity of form like ἀχανής. (iii. 228.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeingēnsingēnsingēns
genitiveingentisingentisingentis
dativeingentīingentīingentī
accusativeingentemingentemingēns
ablativeingentī
ingente
ingentī
ingente
ingentī
ingente
vocativeingēnsingēnsingēns
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeingentēsingentēsingentia
genitiveingentiumingentiumingentium
dativeingentibusingentibusingentibus
accusativeingentīs
ingentēs
ingentīs
ingentēs
ingentia
ablativeingentibusingentibusingentibus
vocativeingentēsingentēsingentia

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

ingentem caedem edere (Liv. 5. 13)
to cause great slaughter, carnage.
ingens, maximus exercitus (not numerosus)
a numerous army.

ingens, tis, adj. 2. in-genus, gens, that goes beyond its kind or species, qs. uncouth, monstrous,
I. of immoderate size, vast, huge, prodigious, enormous; great, remarkable: magnas vero agere gratias Thais mihi? Gn. Ingentes, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 1 (cf.: satis erat respondere magnas: ingentes inquit, semper auget assentator, Cic. Lael. 26, 98): ingens immanisque praeda, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 46, § 110: ingens immensusque campus, id. de Or. 3, 19, 70: pecunia, an exorbitant sum, id. Div. in Caecil. 10 init.; cf. id. Prov. Cons. 3, 5: aquae, Liv. 35, 9, 2: aequor, Hor. C. 1, 7, 32: pinus, id. ib. 2, 3, 9: exitus Istri, Val. Fl. 8, 185: clamor, Liv. 2, 23, 7: gloria, id. 2, 22, 6: virtus atque animus, Hor. S. 2, 7, 103: ingentia facta, id. Ep. 2, 1, 6: vir, Sen. Herc. Fur. 441: ingens aliquā re, great, remarkable, distinguished in any respect: vir famā ingens, ingentior armis, Verg. A. 11, 124: gloriā, Tac. A. 11, 10: viribus opibusque, id. H. 1, 61: eloquio, Stat. S. 1, 4, 71.—
(b). With gen.: ingens virium atque animi, Sall. H. 3, 13 Dietsch: femina ingens animi, Tac. A. 1, 69: vir ingens rerum, id. H. 4, 66.—
(g). With inf.: ingens ferre mala, Sil. 10, 216.—Comp. (poet.), Verg. A. 11, 124.—
II. Trop., great, strong, powerful: senatus, Sil. 11, 67: Paulus, id. 17, 298: ingentis spiritus vir, Liv. 21, 1, 5: cui genus a proavis ingens, Verg. A. 12, 225.

Origins

Traditionally from in- (“un-, not”) + gens (“kind, family, race”); something that goes beyond what is natural for its kind. Sometimes linked to Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s, from an extended form of the oblique stem *m̥ǵh₂- ; this would make it cognate to magnus, Ancient Greek μέγας (mégas) and Sanskrit महत् (mahat)

Descendants
  • Catalaningent
  • Italianingente
  • Spanishingente
  • Sicilianncenti
  • TranslingualIngentia

Quick answers

What does ingēns mean in Latin?
ingēns, a adjective, means “huge, vast, enormous; immoderate, exorbitant; extraordinary, unnatural”.
How do you pronounce ingēns?
In classical Latin, [ˈɪŋ.ɡẽːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈin̠ʲ.d͡ʒens].