LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

lībertus

lībertus m (genitive lībertī, feminine līberta)
Classical[liːˈbɛr.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[liˈbɛr.tus]

Meaning

  1. a freedman, an emancipated person
    SĪMŌ: [...] Fēcī ex servō ut essēs lībertus mihi, / proptereā quod servībās līberāliter: / quod habuī summum pretium persolvī tibi.SIMO: I made you, who were a slave, into a freedman for me, because you served me like a free man: what I had [in my power] — the greatest reward — I gave to you.166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 37–40

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

servus manūmissus
lībertus -ī (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 12

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Libertus · Libertinus

Libertus means the freed-man, with reference to his master, in opp. to servus; Cic. Mil. 33. Sext. 35. Tac. G. 25. Suet. Cæs. 75; libertinus, with reference to his rank, in opp. to civis and ingenuus. Liv. x. 21. xli. 8. Suet. Cl. 54. Senec. Contr. iii. 21. Quærendus mihi gener erat aliquis libertinus; quid ergo? alieno potius liberto? Cic. Verr. i. 47. Trebonius fecit heredem libertum suum . . . Equiti Romano libertinus homo fit heres. Suet. Cl. 25. Tac. H. iii. 58. (vi. 194.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelībertuslībertī
genitivelībertīlībertōrum
dativelībertōlībertīs
accusativelībertumlībertōs
ablativelībertōlībertīs
vocativelībertelībertī

lībertus, a, um, adj. = liberatus, from libero,
I. made free, set free, only as subst., one made free, a freedman, an emancipated person (so called in reference to the manumitter; cf. libertinus, II., and on the several classes of freedmen, v. Sanders ad Just. Inst. 1, 5, 3).
I. Lit.
A. līber-tus, i, m.: tibi servire mavelim Multo, quam alii libertus esse, Plaut. Mil. 4, 8, 47: nec mihi quidem libertus ullus est, id. Curc. 4, 3, 15: feci, e servo ut esses libertus mihi, Ter. And. 1, 1, 10: libertus Cossinii, Cic. Fam. 13, 23: Ciceronis libertus Tiro, Quint. 10, 7, 31: Claudii Caesaris libertus, id. 6, 3, 81: servos nostros libertos suos fecisset, Cic. Mil. 33, 90; Suet. Claud. 27; Cic. Fam. 13, 21, 2; id. Sest. 35, 76: patrono in libertum manus injectio sit, Quint. 7, 7, 9; cf. id. 11, 1, 66.—
B. In fem.: lī-berta, ae (dat. and abl. libertis, Tac. A. 12, 53; Plin. Ep. 10, 4, 2), a freedwoman: jam libertā auctus es? Plaut. Pers. 4, 3, 15: tua, id. ib. 4, 8, 7: mea, id. Ep. 3, 4, 29: matris meae liberta, Suet. Claud. 40: Anto niae liberta, id. Vesp. 3: si neque ipsa patrona neque liberta capite deminuta sit, Gai. Inst. 3, § 51: libertis libertabusque meis, Dig. 50, 16, 105; so esp. freq. in inscriptions: LIBERTIS LIBERTABVSQVE POSTERISQVE EORVM, etc., Inscr. Orell. 3006; 3026 sq.—
II. Transf., in gen., a freedman, without reference to the manumitter; for the usual libertinus (only in late Lat.): de libertis et eorum liberis, Cod. Just. 6, 7 (for which: de libertinis, Just. Inst. 1, 5; Cod. Just. 10, 56).

Origins

From Proto-Italic *louðertos, *louðertā (whence also Faliscan 𐌋𐌏𐌅𐌄𐌓𐌕𐌀 (loferta)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁lewdʰ-er-tos, *h₁lewdʰ-er-teh₂, from *h₁léwdʰeros (see līber), from *h₁lewdʰ- (“to grow; people”). Equivalent to līber (“free”) + -tus (adjective-forming suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalanllibert
  • Italianliberto

In English words that came into English from lībertus

  • libertinelibertinus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesLibertusLibertus (ἀπελεύθερος), a freedman. Greek Concerning freedmen, as concerning slaves, our information mostly relates to Athens; but we have reason to b…

Quick answers

What does lībertus mean in Latin?
lībertus, a noun, means “a freedman, an emancipated person”.
What is the genitive of lībertus?
The genitive singular is lībertī. lībertus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce lībertus?
In classical Latin, [liːˈbɛr.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [liˈbɛr.tus].