lūdius
Meaning
- performer (on stage)
- gladiator (performer in the games)
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Actor · Comœdus · Ludio · Histrio
The generic term actor, and the specific terms comœdus and tragœdus, denote the player, as a respectable artist; but ludio, ludius, the comedian, the player, who makes acting his trade, with the accessory notion of commonness; lastly, histrio, sometimes the actor, sometimes the comedian, but mostly with the accessory notion of buffoonery and boasting. Cic. Sext. 54. Ipse ille maxime ludius, non solum spectator, sed actor et acroama. Rosc. Com. 10. Nemo ex pessimo histrione bonum comœdum fieri posse existimaret. Ep. ad Qu. Fr. i. a. E. Hortor ut tanquam poetæ boni et actores industrii solent, in extrema parte diligentissimus sis. Suet. Aug. 74. (v. 334.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | lūdius | lūdiī |
| genitive | lūdiī lūdī | lūdiōrum |
| dative | lūdiō | lūdiīs |
| accusative | lūdium | lūdiōs |
| ablative | lūdiō | lūdiīs |
| vocative | lūdie | lūdiī |
fite caussā meā ludii barbari, Plaut. Curc. 1, 2, 63: ipse ille maxime ludius, non solum spectator, sed actor et acroama, Cic. Sest. 54, 116; id. Har. Resp. 11; Plaut. Aul. 2, 9, 6: ludius aequatam ter pede pulsat humum, Ov. A. A. 1, 112: triviales ex Circo ludios interponebat, Suet. Aug. 74; cf. ludio.—comitata est Hippia ludium ad Pharon, Juv. 6, 82.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Origins
From lūdus (“stage-play, show, performance”) + -ius, from the same root as lūdō (“to play”). Compare lūdiō.