LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adverb

item

item (not comparable)
Classical[ˈɪ.tẽː]Ecclesiastical[ˈiː.tem]
№ 932 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. not comparablejust like (in a comparison)
    hegio: Salvē, exoptāte gnāte mī. tyndarus: Hem, quid 'gnāte mī'? Attat, sciō quor tē patrem assimules esse et mē fīlium:hegio: Hello, my wished-for son. tyndarus: Huh, what 'my son'? Alas, I know why you act as if you were a father and I your son: because you give me the means to see the light, just like parents do.c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 5.4.9–11
    Ita fit ut nōn item in ōrātiōne ut in versū numerus exstet, idque quod numerōsum in ōrātiōne dīcitur nōn semper numerō fīat, sed nōnnunquam aut concinnitāte aut cōnstructiōne verbōrum.So it turns out that there isn't a metre in prose just like in verse, and that which in oration is called 'metrical' is not always caused by metre, but also on occasion by the euphony and construction of the words.46 BCE, Cicero, Orator 60
  2. not comparablelikewise, also, further
    Hōs item ex proximīs prīmī nāvibus cum cōnspēxissent, subsecūtī hostibus appropīnquārunt.When the lead [soldiers] from the nearest ships had caught sight of [the Tenth Legion entering the battle], likewise these [men] followed and approached the enemy.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 4.25

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ĭtem, adv. i- (cf. is) and -tam, acc. fem. corresponding to tum (is), -tud; cf. tam; Sanscr. ittham, so.
I. Implying comparison, just so, in like manner, after the same manner, likewise, also (cf.: ita, pariter, eodem modo): proinde eri ut sint, ipse item sit, Plaut. Am. 3, 3, 5: quia mi item ut parentes lucis das tuendi copiam, id. Capt. 5, 4, 11: utinam item a principio rei pepercisses meae, ut nunc repercis saviis, id. Truc. 2, 4, 24: placuit Scaevolae et Coruncanio, itemque ceteris, Cic. Leg. 2, 21, 52: item igitur si sine divinatione non potest, id. Div. 2, 52, 107: ita fit, ut non item in oratione, ut in versu numerus exstet, id. Or. 60: fecisti item uti praedones solent, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 9, § 21: item ... quemadmodum, etc., id. ib. 2, 2, 22, § 54: item ... quasi murteta juncis, item ego vos virgis circumvinciam, Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 27; Liv. 39, 19: item ... atque, Varr. L. L. 9, 4; Plaut. Rud. 4, 3, 71: parentes vagitu suo paene bis prodidit: semel, cum a nutricis ubere, item cum a sinu matris raptim auferretur, Suet. Tib. 6.—
B. Esp.: non item, but not: spectaculum uni Crasso jucundum, ceteris non item, Cic. Att. 2, 21, 4: corporum offensiones sine culpa accidere possunt, animorum non item, id. Tusc. 4, 14, 31: in libero servant, in libera non item, id. N. D. 2, 24, 62. —
II. Introducing something additional, without comparison, likewise, besides, also, further, moreover (cf.: etiam, quoque): postquam amans accessit unus et item alter, Ter. And. 1, 1, 49: Ariovistus respondit, jus esse belli, ut, etc.: item populum Romanum victis non ad alterius praescriptum imperare, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 36: legionem Caesar constituit ... item equites Ariovisti pari intervallo constiterunt, id. ib. 1, 43 init.: Romulus augur cum fratre item augure, Cic. Div. 1, 48, 107: ille res in Africa gessit: itemque Mago, ejus frater, Nep. Han. 7, 1: ut recessit, sic accessit et abscessit, item, incessit, Varr. L. L. p. 87 Müll.; so in enumerating, next, again: item ... tertio ... quarto ..., Varr. R. R. 1, 16, 3: semel ... item, Suet. Tib. 6; id. Claud. 4.

Origins

Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *éy and *só. Compare ita and itidem.

Descendants
  • Frenchitem
  • Englishitemfrom Middle English item
  • Portugueseitem
  • Scotseetemfrom Middle English item

In English words that came into English from item

  • itemitem

Quick answers

What does item mean in Latin?
item, a adverb, means “just like (in a comparison); likewise, also, further”.
How do you pronounce item?
In classical Latin, [ˈɪ.tẽː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈiː.tem].