LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective

lūgubris

lūgubris (neuter lūgubre, adverb lūgubre or lūgubriter)
Classical[ˈɫuː.ɡʊ.brɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.ɡu.bris]
lūgubriter

Meaning

  1. two terminationof or pertaining to mourning
    Texentem tēlam studiōsē ipsam offendimus, mediocriter vestītam veste lūgubrī[…]We found her studiously weaving at the loom, modestly dressed in mourning clothes […]163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 2.3.44–45
  2. two terminationthat causes mourning, disastrous; pitiable
    Quī gurgēs aut quae flūmina lūgubris ignāra bellī? Quod mare Dauniae nōn dēcolorāvere caedēs?What seas or rivers are unaware of the disastrous war? Which sea the Daunian slaughters haven't stained? Which shore lacks our blood?23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horatius, Carmina 2.1.33–36
  3. two terminationmournful, doleful, plaintive
  4. two terminationgloomy, sinister, mean

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

vestēs ātrae lūctūs
lūgubria -ium (n pl) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 23

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelūgubrislūgubrislūgubre
genitivelūgubrislūgubrislūgubris
dativelūgubrīlūgubrīlūgubrī
accusativelūgubremlūgubremlūgubre
ablativelūgubrīlūgubrīlūgubrī
vocativelūgubrislūgubrislūgubre
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativelūgubrēslūgubrēslūgubria
genitivelūgubriumlūgubriumlūgubrium
dativelūgubribuslūgubribuslūgubribus
accusativelūgubrīs
lūgubrēs
lūgubrīs
lūgubrēs
lūgubria
ablativelūgubribuslūgubribuslūgubribus
vocativelūgubrēslūgubrēslūgubria

lūgū^bris (lūgūbris, Lucr. 4, 547), e, adj. lugeo and fero,
I. of or belonging to mourning, mourning-.
I. Lit.: lamentatio, over the dead, Cic. Tusc. 1, 13, 30: vestis, mourning apparel, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 45; cf. cultus, Tac. A. 13, 32: cantus, a dirge, Hor. C. 1, 24, 2: domus, a house of mourning, Liv. 3, 32: genitor, mourning, sorrowing, Ov. M. 4, 690; so, pectora, id. H. 10, 145.— Subst.: lūgū^brĭa, ĭum, n., mourning garments, sable weeds: lugubria indue, Ov. M. 11, 669; illa dies veniet, mea qua lugubria ponam. id. Tr. 4, 2, 73: imposita lugubria numquam exuerunt, Sen. Cons. ad Helv. 16, 2: lugubria sumpsi, Prop. 4 (5), 12, 97.—
II. Transf.
A. That causes mourning, disastrous: bellum, Hor. C. 2, 1, 33: Trojae renascens alite lugubri, id. ib. 3, 3, 61.—
B. Mournful, doleful, plaintive: vox, Lucr. 4, 546: vagitus, id. 5, 226: verba, Ov. Ib. 99.—
C. Mean, pitiable: sagum, Hor. Epod. 9, 28.—Hence, adv., in two forms: lūgū^bre and lūgū^brĭter, mournfully, dolefully, portentously, plaintively: cometae Sanguinei lugubre rubent, Verg. A. 10, 273: sonitu lugubre minaci Mulciber immugit, Sil. 12, 140: lugubriter eiulantes, App. M. 3, 8, p. 132.

Origins

From the root of lūgeō (“mourn, lament”) via Proto-Italic *lougosris or *leugosris, built on a neuter s-stem noun *lougos/*leugos with change of sr→br (compare muliebris, fūnebris). Sen 2015 identifies the ending as the suffix *-lis, making the original formation *leug-os-lis, with subsequent dissimilation of l...l to l...r. An alternative theory derives it from *lūge-blis, with the same dissimilation.

Descendants
  • Catalanlúgubre
  • Englishlugubrious
  • Frenchlugubre
  • Italianlugubre
  • Portugueselúgubre
  • Romanianlugubru
  • Spanishlúgubre
  • Portugueselôbrego
  • Spanishlóbrego
  • Catalanllòbrecfrom Spanish lóbrego

In English words that came into English from lūgubris

  • lugubriouslūgubris

Quick answers

What does lūgubris mean in Latin?
lūgubris, a adjective, means “of or pertaining to mourning; that causes mourning, disastrous; pitiable”.
How do you pronounce lūgubris?
In classical Latin, [ˈɫuː.ɡʊ.brɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈluː.ɡu.bris].