LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

lituus

lituus m (genitive lituī)
Classical[ˈlɪ.tu.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈliː.tu.us]

Meaning

  1. masculinea military trumpet
  2. masculinea curved staff

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelituuslituī
genitivelituīlituōrum
dativelituōlituīs
accusativelituumlituōs
ablativelituōlituīs
vocativelituelituī

lĭtŭus, i (
I. gen. plur. lituum, Luc. 1, 237; Val. Fl. 6, 166; Sil. 13, 146), m. prob. Etruscan; prim. signif. crooked.
I. Lit.
A. The crooked staff borne by the augurs, an augur's crook or crosier, augural wand: dextra manu baculum sine nodo aduncum tenens, quem lituum appellaverunt, Liv. 1, 18, 7; cf.: lituus iste vester, quod clarissimum est insigne auguratus, Cic. Div. 1, 17. 30; Geh. 5, 7, 8: Quirinalis, Verg. A. 7, 187: lituo pulcher trabeaque Quirinus, Ov. F. 6, 375.—
B. A crooked wind-instrument (used to give signals in war), a curved trumpet, cornet, clarion: lituus sonitus effudit acutos, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 116 Müll. (Ann. v. 522 Vahl.); Verg. A. 6, 167: jam lituus pugnae signa daturus erat, Ov. F. 3, 216: lituo tubae Permixtus sonitus, Hor. C. 1, 1, 23: stridor lituum clangorque tubarum, Luc. 1, 237: cornua cum lituis audita, Juv. 14, 200.—
II. Transf., a signal: de lituis, βοώπιδος, Cic. Att. 2, 12, 2.—
III. Trop., an instigator, author: lituus meae profectionis, Cic. Att. 11, 12, 1.

Origins

From Etruscan or from Proto-Indo-European *(e)lAi- (“to bend”). Compare English lith and German Glied (“limb”).

In English words that came into English from lituus

  • lituuslituus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesLituusLituus Müller (Die Etrusker, 4.1, 5) supposes this to be an Etruscan word signifying crooked, but more probably it is connected with the verb litare, …

Quick answers

What does lituus mean in Latin?
lituus, a noun, means “a military trumpet; a curved staff”.
What is the genitive of lituus?
The genitive singular is lituī. lituus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce lituus?
In classical Latin, [ˈlɪ.tu.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈliː.tu.us].