LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

lūna1

lūna f (genitive lūnae)
Classical[ˈɫuː.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.na]
№ 902 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a moon
  2. figurativelymoonlight, moon shine
    lūna fuit: spectant iuvenem gladiōsque reconduntThere was moonlight: They look upon the young man, and sheathe their swords8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 2.697
  3. figurativelya month
  4. figurativelya night
  5. a crescent shape
  6. silver

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quae nocte lūcet; crēscit et minuitur.
lūna -ae f — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelūna
☾a		lūnae
☽nae, ☾ae
genitivelūnae
lūnai, ☽nae, ☾ae		lūnārum
☽nārum, ☾ārum
dativelūnae
lūnai, ☽nae, ☾ae		lūnīs
☽nīs, ☾īs
accusativelūnam
☽nam, ☾am		lūnās
☽nās, ☾ās
ablativelūnā
☽nā, ☾ā		lūnīs
☽nīs, ☾īs
vocativelūna
☽na, ☾a		lūnae
☽nae, ☾ae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

sol(luna) deficit, obscuratur
the sun, moon, is eclipsed.
luna crescit; decrescit, senescit
the moon waxes, wanes.

lūna, ae (
I. gen. lunai, Lucr. 5, 69), f. contr. for luc-na, from root luc; v. luceo, the moon.
I. Lit.: dimidiata, Cato, R. R. 37: extrema et prima, Varr. R. R. 1, 37: solis annuos cursus spatiis menstruis luna consequitur, Cic. N. D. 2, 19, 50; 2, 40, 103; id. Ac. 2, 39, 123: cum luna laboret, is eclipsed, id. Tusc. 1, 38, 92: lunae defectus, Liv. 26, 5: lunae defectio, Quint. 1, 10, 47: siderum regina bicornis, Hor. C. S. 35: aurea, Ov. M. 10, 448: nivea, id. ib. 14, 367: minor, Hor. S. 2, 8, 31: dimidia, Plin. 18, 32, 75, § 323: plena, id. 11, 30, 36, § 109: nova, id. 18, 32, 75, § 322: intermenstrua, id. 18, 32, 75, § 322: lunae senium, id. 7, 48, 49, § 155: lunae coitus, id. 16, 39, 74, § 190: crescens, Col. 2, 15: decrescens, id. 2, 5: tertia, quarta, quinta, etc., the third, fourth, fifth, etc., day after the new moon, id. 2, 10: laborans, an eclipse of the moon, Juv. 6, 442: corniculata, dividua, protumida, plena, App. de Deo Socr.—
II. Transf.
A. A month: centesima revolvente se luna, Plin. 18, 25, 57, § 217; cf. Ov. M. 7, 531.—
B. A night: roscida, Verg. G. 3, 337: immeritae omnia lunae, Prop. 4, 4, 23.—
C. The figure of a half-moon, a crescent, lune, Stat. Th. 6, 289. —Esp., the badge worn by senators on their shoes: felix ... appositam nigrae lunam subtexit alutae, Juv. 7, 191: patricia, Stat. S. 5, 2, 27; cf. Isid. Orig. 19, 34, and lunula. —
D. The semicircular cartilages in the throat, Sid. Carm. 7, 191.—
E. Personified: Lūna, the Moon-goddess: Volcanus, Luna, Sol, Dies, di quattuor, Plaut. Bacch. 2, 3, 21; Ov. F. 4, 374; Aus. Ep. 5, 3; 19, 3; cf. Stat. Th. 12, 299 sqq.; Hyg. Fab. praef.: Aristoteles ... Minervam esse lunam probabilibus argumentis explicat, Arn. 3, 31. Her temple, built on the Aventine by Servius Tullius, was burned in Nero's reign, Liv. 40, 2, 2; Tac. A. 15, 41.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *louksnā, from Proto-Indo-European *lówksneh₂, which is derived from Proto-Indo-European *lewk-. By surface analysis, lūx + -na. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *luna.

Borrowings
  • Englishlune
  • Englishluna
  • GermanLaune
  • Danishlune
  • Interlingualuna
Gallo-Romance
  • Occitanluna
  • Catalanllunafrom Old Catalan luna
  • Franco-Provençallena
  • Old Frenchlune
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianluna
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianlună
  • Aromanianlunã
  • Istro-Romanianlurĕ
  • Megleno-Romanianlună
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianluna
  • Gallureselunafrom Corsican luna
  • Sassaresełunafrom Corsican luna
  • Dalmatianloina
  • Judeo-Italianלוּנַה
  • Tarantinolunefrom Neapolitan luna
  • Sicilianluna
  • Venetanłuna
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishlunafrom Old Spanish luna
  • Aragoneseluna
  • Old Galician-Portugueselũa
  • Asturianlluna
  • Extremaduranluna
  • Leoneselluna
  • Mirandeselhuna
  • Ladinolunafrom Old Spanish luna
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianlune
  • Ladinlöna
  • Ladinlùna
  • Romanshglina
Gallo-Italic
  • Ligurianlun-a
  • Lombardlunafrom Old Lombard luna
  • Lombardlünafrom Old Lombard luna
  • Lombardlönafrom Old Lombard luna
  • Piedmonteselun-a
proper noun · femininefirst declension
Lūna2
Lūna f sg (genitive Lūnae)
Classical[ˈɫuː.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.na]

Meaning

  1. alternative letter-case form of lūna (“the Moon”)
    AD 334–7, Julius Firmicus Maternus (author), Wilhelm Kroll and Franz Skutsch (editors), Matheseos libri VIII, Leipzig: In aedibus B. G. Teubneri, volume I: Libros IV priores et quinti prooemium continens (1897), book iv, chapter i, § 10 (page 199, lines 16–19)
  2. RomanLuna (the moon goddess)
    Lūna regit mēnsīsLuna governs the months (See Luna (goddess).)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.883

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeLūna—
genitiveLūnae—
dativeLūnae—
accusativeLūnam—
ablativeLūnā—
vocativeLūna—

Lūna, ae, f.,
I. a city of Etruria, now Luni, Mel. 2, 4, 9; Plin. 3, 5, 8, § 50; Liv. 39, 21, 5; 43, 11; Mart. 13, 30, 1; Sil. 8, 482.— Hence,
II. Lūnensis or Lūniensis, e, adj., of or belonging to Luna: caseus Luniensis, remarkable for its size, Plin. 11, 42, 97, § 241; Mart. 13, 30 in lemm.: marmor, the modern marble of Carrara, Plin. 36, 6, 7, § 48: silex, id. 36, 18, 29, § 135: ara, an altar of marble of Luna, Suet. Ner. 50. —Plur. subst.: Lūnenses, ĭum, m., the inhabitants of Luna, Plin. 36, 5, 4, § 14.

Origins

The same word as lūna (“moon”), taken as a proper noun.

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

GeographyLunaLuna (Λούνα, Strab. Λοῦνα, Ptol.: Σελήνης πόλις, Steph. B. sub voce: Eth. Lunensis: Luni), a city of Etruria, situated on the left bank of the Macra, …Biography & mythologyLunaLuna. the moon. The sun and the moon were worshipped both by Greeks and Romans, and among the latter the worship of Luna is said to have been introduc…
proper noun · femininefirst declension
Lūna3
Lūna f sg (genitive Lūnae)
Classical[ˈɫuː.na]Ecclesiastical[ˈluː.na]

Meaning

  1. a city in Etruria, situated on the left bank of the Macra

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeLūna—
genitiveLūnae—
dativeLūnae—
accusativeLūnam—
ablativeLūnā—
vocativeLūna—
locativeLūnae—

Origins

The same word as lūna (“moon”), taken as a proper noun.

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

GeographyLunaLuna (Λούνα, Strab. Λοῦνα, Ptol.: Σελήνης πόλις, Steph. B. sub voce: Eth. Lunensis: Luni), a city of Etruria, situated on the left bank of the Macra, …Biography & mythologyLunaLuna. the moon. The sun and the moon were worshipped both by Greeks and Romans, and among the latter the worship of Luna is said to have been introduc…

Quick answers

What does lūna mean in Latin?
lūna, a noun, means “a moon; moonlight, moon shine; a month”.
What is the genitive of lūna?
The genitive singular is lūnae. lūna is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce lūna?
In classical Latin, [ˈɫuː.na]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈluː.na].