LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
determinerdemonstrative determiner (pronominal declension)

iste

iste (feminine ista, neuter istud)
Classical[ˈɪs.tɛ]Ecclesiastical[ˈis.te]
№ 81 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. demonstrativedeterminerthat (near you); those (in the plural)
    Utinam tibi istam mentem dī immortālēs duint!If only the immortal gods would grant that intention to you!63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.22
    [...] Et suprā caput adstitit: “Hunc ego DītīAnd [Iris] placed herself just above [Dido’s] head: “Having been ordered [to do so], I am bringing this [lock of hair as] a sacred offering to Dis, and I release [your spirit] from that body [which was yours].” (See: Dis Pater.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.702-703
  2. demonstrativedeterminerpronounthat one (near you); that (thing); those ones (in the plural); those (things); he, she, it

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeisteistaistud
genitiveistī̆usistī̆usistī̆us
dativeistīistīistī
accusativeistumistamistud
ablativeistōistāistō
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeistīistaeista
genitiveistōrumistārumistōrum
dativeistīsistīsistīs
accusativeistōsistāsista
ablativeistīsistīsistīs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

qui ista profitentur
men of that profession.

iste, a, ud,
I. gen. istīus (the poets often make the penult of the gen. short: istĭus, Verg. A. 12, 648: istius, dissyl., Plaut. Most. 3, 2, 59; Ter. Phorm. 5, 8, 76 al.— An old form of the gen. isti, with modi, Cato ap. Prisc. p. 694 P.; Plaut. Truc. 5, 38.— With affixed ce: istisce, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 40; and in interrogations, cine: istoscine patrem aequum'st mores liberis largirier? id. As. 5, 2, 82.—Dat. isto, App. M. 5, 31, p. 172 fin. al.; dat. f. istae, Plaut. Truc. 5, 38.—Shortened form, ste, sta, stoc, etc.; v. Non. p. 476; Lachm. ad Lucr. 3, 954), pron. demonstr. [compounded of two pronom. stems, i- (cf. is) and to-; Sanscr. -ta; cf. tam, tum], this, that (man, woman, thing), called the demonstr. of the second person, since it is especially used in reference to persons and things connected in place, relation, or thought, with the person addressed.
I. In gen.
A. That (person or thing) near to you (in place or thought), that of yours, that of which you speak or with which you are connected: si ista nobis cogitatio de triumpho injecta non esset, Cic. Fam. 7, 3, 2: istae minae, those threats of yours, Liv. 4, 5: de istis rebus exspecto tuas litteras, those affairs of yours, Cic. Att. 2, 5, 2: quid quod adventu tuo ista subsellia vacuefacta sunt, those seats where you are sitting, id. Cat. 1, 7, 16; id. de Sen. 17, 59: quae est ista praetura? that prætorship of yours, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 18, § 46: quaevis mallem fuisset (causa), quam ista quam dicis, id. de Or. 2, 4, 15.—
2. So with pronom. of the second person: cum enim tuus iste Stoicus sapiens dixerit, Cic. Ac. 2, 38, 119: quid iste tuus vates donat? Ov. Am. 1, 8, 57: iste vester (sapiens), Cic. Ac. 2, 33, 105: quae tua est ista vita, id. Cat. 1, 7, 16. —
B. With a general reference, that, this, the very, that particular (person or thing), he, she, it.
1. Alone, as pron.: illae quae cum isto cubant, Plaut. Mil. 1, 1, 65: credis quod iste dicit, Ter. Eun. 4, 4, 44: haec quae ista elementa videantur, Cic. de Or. 1, 35, 163. —
2. With substt.: erat enim ab isto Aristotele, a cujus inventis, etc., Cic. de Or. 2, 38, 160: ista divina studia, id. de Sen. 7, 24: ut jam ne istius quidem rei culpam sustineam, id. Att. 7, 3, 1: nec enim ab isto officio abduci debui, id. Lael. 2, 8.—
3. With other pronouns: istius ipsius in dicendo facultatis, Cic. de Or. 2, 29, 128: transeat idem iste sapiens ad rem publicam tuendam. id. Tusc. 5, 25, 72: in eodem isto Aegyptio regno vitā privatus, id. Rab. Post. 9, 23. —
4. With the rel.: necesse est eam, quae suum corpus prodixerit turpissimae cupiditati, timere permultos. Quos istos? etc., Auct. Her. 4, 16, 23. —
II. In partic.
A. Like is in the sense of tantus and talis, such, of such a kind: quare cum ista sis auctoritate, etc., Cic. Mur. 6, 13: servi mei, si me isto pacto metuerent, ut te metuunt omnes, etc., id. Cat. 1, 7, 17: homines ista auctoritate praediti, qua vos estis, id. Rosc. Am. 53, 154: animo isto esse, Nep. Eum. 11, 4: egon, quidquam cum istis factis tibi respondeam, Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 73.—
B. It freq. implies scorn or contempt: non erit ista amicitia, sed mercatura, Cic. N. D. 1, 44, 122; id. Cat. 2, 7: iste otii et pacis hostis, id. Dom. 5, 12: animi est ista mollities, non virtus, inopiam paulisper ferre non posse, Caes. B. G. 7, 77: hic vestis cum isto squalore permutandus, Curt. 4, 1, 22; 3, 2, 16: tuus iste frater, Petr. 9: o isti, an urgent form of address, Arn. 1, 23, 36 et saep.—
C. In the abl.: isto, for this reason, therefore: isto tu's pauper, quom nimis sancte piu's, Plaut. Rud. 4, 7, 8.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *esto, from Proto-Indo-European *só, with only the second part declining. Cognate with Lepontic 𐌉𐌑𐌏𐌔 (iśos) and Albanian ashtu. See also tum, tam.

Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianesto
  • Italian'sto
  • Italianstesso
  • Corsicanistu
  • Neapolitanstu
  • Neapolitanstesso
  • Sicilianstu
  • Venetansto
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalaneste
  • Catalanest
  • Gasconestefrom Old Occitan est
  • Provençalestefrom Old Occitan est
  • Provençalestofrom Old Occitan est
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseeste
  • Spanisheste
  • Asturianesti
  • Leoneseesti
  • Mirandeseeste
  • Mozarabicשת
  • Galicianeste
  • Galicianiste
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianiste
  • Sardinianistu
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianăst
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianst
  • Emilianste
  • Liguriansto
  • Lombardsto
  • Piedmonteseist
  • Piedmontesest
  • Piedmontesesto
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalsti
  • Franco-Provençalstu
  • Franco-Provençalstú
  • Franco-Provençalstù sì
  • Franco-Provençalstù kyì
  • Old Frenchist
  • Old Frenches

Quick answers

What does iste mean in Latin?
iste, a determiner, means “that (near you); those (in the plural); that one (near you)”.
How do you pronounce iste?
In classical Latin, [ˈɪs.tɛ]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈis.te].