LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)

lacer

lacer (feminine lacera, neuter lacerum)
Classical[ˈɫa.kɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈlaː.t͡ʃer]

Meaning

  1. adjectivelacerated, mangled, torn to pieces

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativein -er
lacer		laceralacerum
genitivelacerīlaceraelacerī
dativelacerōlaceraelacerō
accusativelacerumlaceramlacerum
ablativelacerōlacerālacerō
vocativelacerlaceralacerum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelacerīlaceraelacera
genitivelacerōrumlacerārumlacerōrum
dativelacerīslacerīslacerīs
accusativelacerōslacerāslacera
ablativelacerīslacerīslacerīs
vocativelacerīlaceraelacera

lăcer (lăcĕrus quoted by Prisc. 901 P.), ĕra, ĕrum, adj. root λακ-, to tear; Gr. λακερός, torn; λάκκος, lake; Lat. lacero, lacus, lacuna, lāma; Irish, loch; Engl. lake,
I. mangled, lacerated, torn to pieces.
I. Lit. (not in Cic. or Cæs.): homo, Lucr. 3, 403: corpus, Liv. 1, 28; Plin. 2, 63, 63, § 156: corpus verberibus, Just. 21, 4, 7: cui quod membrum lacerum laesumve est, Masur. Sab. ap. Gell. 4, 2, 15: Deiphobum lacerum crudeliter ora, mutilated, Verg. A. 6, 495; so, artus avolsaque membra et funus lacerum tellus habet, id. ib. 9, 491.—Of the hair: nec modus aut pennis, laceris aut crinibus, ignem spargere, Stat. S. 1, 1, 133; Sil. 6, 560; Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 177: vestis, Tac. H. 3, 10: tectorum vestigia lacera et semusta, id. A. 15, 40: puppis, Ov. H. 2, 45: insignia, Stat. Th. 10, 8: lacerae unguibus venae, Sen. Phoen. 162.—
B. Trop. (postAug. and very rare): sparsas, atque, ut ita dicam, laceras gentilitates colligere atque conectere, families rent and scattered, Plin. Pan. 39, 3.—Poet.: castra, an army that has lost its general, Sil. 15, 9: lacerae domus artus componere, Sen. Thyest. 432.—*
II. Transf., act., rending, lacerating (for lacerans): morsus, Ov. M. 8, 880.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*leh₂k-
  2. Proto-Italic*lakeros
  3. Latinlacer

Inherited from Proto-Italic *lakeros, from Proto-Indo-European *leh₂k-. Cognate with lancinō, Ancient Greek λᾰκίς (lăkís, “rending, tatters”), Proto-Slavic *laxъ (“rags”) (whence Polish łach (“id”)).

Descendants
  • Italianlacero

In English words that came into English from lacer

  • laceratelacerātus
  • lacerationlacerātiō

Quick answers

What does lacer mean in Latin?
lacer, a adjective, means “lacerated, mangled, torn to pieces”.
How do you pronounce lacer?
In classical Latin, [ˈɫa.kɛr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈlaː.t͡ʃer].
Where does lacer come from?
Proto-Indo-European *leh₂k- → Proto-Italic *lakeros → Latin lacer.