LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

lūbricus

lūbricus (feminine lūbrica, neuter lūbricum)
Classical[ˈɫuː.brɪ.kʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.bri.kus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveslippery, slimy
    Nōn hercle tam istōc validē cassābant cadī; sed in cellā erat paulum nimis loculī lūbricīNo, that’s not why the jars tottered so much; rather, in the cellar there was a small and very slippery spotc. 206 BCE, Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 852
  2. adjectivefleeting
    mandantem amplectī cupiunt et bracchia tendunt: / lūbrica prēnsantēs effugit umbra manūs[As he is] entrusting [his request to them], they long to embrace [him] and extend their arms: the fleeting shade eludes their grasping hands.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.475–476
  3. adjectiveinconstant
  4. adjectivedeceitful
    4th century CE, Jerome of Stridon (St. Jerome), Vulgate, 26:28 (trans.: Douay-Rheims Bible)A deceitful tongue loveth not truth: and a slippery mouth worketh ruin.
  5. adjectivehazardous, unsteady
  6. adjectivetricky

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

in quō pēs nōn stat, lēvis
lūbricus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 10
quod ē manibus ēlābitur
lūbricus -a -um — in Aeneis, ch. 18

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelūbricuslūbricalūbricum
genitivelūbricīlūbricaelūbricī
dativelūbricōlūbricaelūbricō
accusativelūbricumlūbricamlūbricum
ablativelūbricōlūbricālūbricō
vocativelūbricelūbricalūbricum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelūbricīlūbricaelūbrica
genitivelūbricōrumlūbricārumlūbricōrum
dativelūbricīslūbricīslūbricīs
accusativelūbricōslūbricāslūbrica
ablativelūbricīslūbricīslūbricīs
vocativelūbricīlūbricaelūbrica

lūbrĭcus, a, um, adj. Gr. λιτός, λισσός, smooth; from root γλιτ; cf. γλίσχρος, glittus, and ὀλιβρός, slippery,
I. slippery.
I. Lit.: loculi, Plaut. Mil. 3, 2, 38: testudini injecta imbris in modum lubrico fastigio innoxia ad imum labebantur, Liv. 44, 9, 9: assiduo lubricus imbre lapis, Mart. 4, 18, 2.— Subst.: lūbrĭcum, i, n., a slippery place, Cels. 8, 3: in lubrico atque instabili fundamenta, Plin. 36, 14, 21, § 95.—With gen.: equi lubrico paludum lapsantes, on the slippery morass, Tac. A. 1, 65.—
B. Transf.
1. Slippery, smooth, Mart. 9, 58, 3.—
2. That easily slips, glides, or moves away, slippery, slimy, lubricous: natura lubricos oculos fecit, Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 142: anguis, Verg. A. 5, 84: exta, Tib. 2, 5, 14: amnis, Ov. Am. 3, 6, 81: pisces, Plin. 9, 20, 37, § 73: conchylia, slimy, Hor. S. 2, 4, 30: corpus, Plin. 2, 3, 3, § 7: lubrica prensantes effugit umbra manus, Ov. F. 5, 476: amnis, gliding, id. Am. 3, 6, 81.—
II. Trop.
A. Slippery, uncertain, hazardous, dangerous, critical (class.): via vitae praeceps et lubrica, Cic. Fl. 42, 105; cf. id. Rep. 1, 28: viae lubricae adulescentiae, id. Cael. 17, 41: aetas puerilis maxime lubrica atque incerta, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 52, § 137: cupiditas dominandi praeceps et lubrica, id. Phil. 5, 18, 50: lubrica defensionis ratio, id. Planc. 2, 5: observatio, Quint. 1, 5, 5: locus, Plin. Ep. 1, 8, 35: geometriam dico ... et si qua alia propter subtilitatem lubrica sunt, Sen. Ben. 3, 5, 1.—Poet., with inf.: vultus nimium lubricus aspici, seductive, Hor. C. 1, 19, 8. —Subst.: lūbrĭcum, i, n., a slippery or hazardous state, period, or season: in lubrico versari, Cic. Or. 28, 98: lubricum aetatis, Plin. Ep. 3, 3, 4: lubricum linguae, Dig. 48, 4, 7, § 3.—
B. Gliding, fleeting: historia lubrica est hac atque illac fluit, ut homines, qui manibus invicem adprehensis gradum firmant, continent et continentur, passing from one subject to another, Quint. 9, 4, 129: annus, fleeting, Ov. A. A. 3, 364. —
C. Slippery, deceitful: nequiquam patrias tentasti lubricus artes, Verg. A. 11, 716.—
D. Prone, inclined, ready: flore capi juvenum lubrica mentem nympha, Sil. 5, 18: aetas ad vitium, Ambros. de Interp. Job et Dav. 1, 7, 21.—
E. Unsteady, unsettled, easily going astray: si qua in parte lubricum adulescentiae nostrae declinat, Tac. A. 14, 56: lubricam principis aetatem retinere, id. ib. 13, 2.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*slewbʰ-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*slubʰ-ró-
  3. Proto-Italic*slouβr(e/o)kos?
  4. Latinlūbricus

Perhaps from Proto-Italic *slouβr(e/o)kos, from Proto-Indo-European *slubʰ-ró- (“gliding”), itself perhaps from a root *slewbʰ- (“to slide, glide”). Possibly related to Proto-Germanic *sleupaną, though Kroonen prefers to connect the Germanic forms with a root *slewp-. If the connection between the Latin and Germanic forms is accepted, then the root may have only belonged to a late western Indo-European dialect.

Learned borrowings
  • Catalanlúbric
  • Englishlubric
  • Frenchlubrique
  • Italianlubrico
  • Occitanlubric
  • Portugueselúbrico
  • Spanishlúbrico
  • Galicianlúbrico
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueselôbrego
  • Spanishlóbrego
  • Catalanllòbrecfrom Spanish lóbrego

Quick answers

What does lūbricus mean in Latin?
lūbricus, a adjective, means “slippery, slimy; fleeting; inconstant”.
How do you pronounce lūbricus?
In classical Latin, [ˈɫuː.brɪ.kʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈluː.bri.kus].
Where does lūbricus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *slewbʰ-? → Proto-Indo-European *slubʰ-ró- → Proto-Italic *slouβr(e/o)kos? → Latin lūbricus.