noun · femininefirst declension
latebra
latebra f (genitive latebrae)
Classical[ˈɫa.tɛ.bra]Ecclesiastical[ˈlaː.te.bra]
Meaning
- femininehiding place, retreat, lair
“impulerat ferrō Argolicās foedāre latebrās” “[If Laocoön] had impelled [us] to despoil the Argolian hiding-places with the spearpoint ….” – Aeneas
29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 2.55 - feminineplace of refuge from war
- femininehidden recess
- femininesubterfuge
- femininefigurativelya writing in cipher, a riddle
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
locus latendīlatebrae -ārum (f) — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 22
locus occultus ubi latēslatebra -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 3, 8
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Latebra · Latibulum
Latebra is a retired or obscure place, where a man can conveniently remain concealed; latibulum, a lurking-hole, into which a man must creep like a beast. (vi. 189.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | latebra | latebrae |
| genitive | latebrae | latebrārum |
| dative | latebrae | latebrīs |
| accusative | latebram | latebrās |
| ablative | latebrā | latebrīs |
| vocative | latebra | latebrae |
lătē^bra, ae, f. lateo,
I. a hiding-place, lurking-hole, covert, retreat (class.; most freq. in plur.; v. infra, II. B.).
I. Lit.:
(aurum) in latebris situm est, Plaut. Aul. 4, 2, 2: itaque in totis aedibus tenebrae, latebrae, id. Poen. 4, 2, 13: latebris ac silvis aut saltibus se eripere, Caes. B. G. 6, 43: Cappadociae latebris se occultare, Cic. de Imp. Pomp. 3, 7: aliquem in latebras impellere, id. Rab. Perd. 8, 22: at Scyllam caecis cohibet spelunca latebris, Verg. A. 3, 424: tum latebras animae, pectus mucrone recludit, the hidden seat of life, id. ib. 10, 601: solis defectus lunaeque latebrae, i. e. eclipses of the moon, Lucr. 5, 751. —In sing., Cic. Cael. 26, 62: extractus e latebra, Suet. Vit. 17; id. Ner. 48: bellorum, a place of refuge from war, Luc. 5, 743: teli, the weapon's lurking-place, i. e. the place where the arrow-head was sticking in his body, Verg. A. 12, 389.—II. Trop.
A. In gen., a lurking-place, hidden recess, retreat:
in latebras abscondas (stultitiam) pectore penitissumo, Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 64; Lucr. 1, 408: cum illa conjuratio ex latebris atque ex tenebris erupisset, Cic. Sest. 4, 9: latebras suspicionum peragrare, id. Cael. 22, 53; Quint. 12, 9, 3.—In sing.: adhibuit etiam latebram obscuritatis, Cic. Div. 2, 45, 111: in tabellae latebra, id. Fam. 3, 12, 1: scribendi, a secret mode of writing, a writing in cipher, Gell. 17, 9, 4.—B. In partic., a subterfuge, shift, cloak, pretence, feigned excuse (only in sing.):
latebram haberes, Cic. Fin. 2, 33, 107: magnificam in latebram conjecisti, id. Div. 2, 20, 46: videant, ne quaeratur latebra perjurio, id. Off. 3, 29, 106: latebram dare vitiis, Ov. A. A. 3, 754.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
latebra ae, f
LAT-, a hiding-place, lurkinghole, covert, retreat : non invenio quae latebra esse possit, etc.—Usu. plur: latebris aut saltibus se eripere, Cs.: te in latebras impellere: latebras animae recludit, hidden seat of life , V.: teli latebras Rescindant penitus, i. e. cut out the arrowhead , V.—Fig., a lurking-place, hidden recess, retreat : adhibuit etiam latebram obscuritatis: in tabellae latebrā: latebras suspitionum peragrare. — A subterfuge, shift, cloak, pretence, feigned excuse : latebram haberes: ne quaeratur latebra periurio: latebras dare vitiis, O.
Origins
From lateō + -bra. Compare latibulum.