adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
maestus
maestus (feminine maesta, neuter maestum, comparative maestior, superlative maestissimus, adverb maestē)
Classical[ˈmae̯s.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛs.tus]
№ 669 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivesad, sorrowful, melancholy
nōn tibi sunt maestā sacra canenda lyrā.
For you, sacred themes are not to be sung with a sorrowful lyre.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.84 - adjectivegloomy
- adjectivemournful, of or pertaining to mourning or sadness
Revocātē animōs, maestumque timōrem mittite.
“Revive your courage, and dismiss your mournful fear.”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.202–203hoc lūget spatiō fēmina maesta virum
This is how long a mournful woman grieves [for] her husband.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.134
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
trīstis, dolōre plēnusmaestus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 24 and Metamorphoses I, ch. 11, 22
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | maestus | maesta mēsta | maestum mēstum |
| genitive | maestī mēstī | maestae mēstae | maestī mēstī |
| dative | maestō mēstō | maestae mēstae | maestō mēstō |
| accusative | maestum mēstum | maestam mēstam | maestum mēstum |
| ablative | maestō mēstō | maestā mēstā | maestō mēstō |
| vocative | maeste mēste | maesta mēsta | maestum mēstum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | maestī mēstī | maestae mēstae | maesta mēsta |
| genitive | maestōrum mēstōrum | maestārum mēstārum | maestōrum mēstōrum |
| dative | maestīs mēstīs | maestīs mēstīs | maestīs mēstīs |
| accusative | maestōs mēstōs | maestās mēstās | maesta mēsta |
| ablative | maestīs mēstīs | maestīs mēstīs | maestīs mēstīs |
| vocative | maestī mēstī | maestae mēstae | maesta mēsta |
maestus (moest-), a, um, adj. maereo, q. v.,
I. full of sadness, sad, sorrowful, afflicted, dejected, melancholy (class.).
I. Lit.:
quid vos maestos tam tristesque esse conspicor? Plaut. Bacch. 4, 4, 18: id misera maestast, sibi eorum evenisse inopiam, id. Rud. 2, 3, 67; Cic. Div. 1, 28, 59: cum immolanda Iphigenia tristis Calchas esset, maestior Ulixes, etc., id. Or. 22, 74: maestus ac sordidatus senex, id. de Or. 2, 47, 195; id. Fam. 4, 6, 2: maestus ac sollicitus, Hor. S. 1, 2, 3: maestissimus Hector, Verg. A. 2, 270.—Of inanim. and abstr. things: maesto et conturbato vultu, Auct. Her. 3, 15, 27: maesta ac lugentia castra, Just. 18, 7: maestam attonitamque videre urbem, Juv. 11, 199: maesta manus, Ov. F. 4, 454: horrida pro maestis lanietur pluma capillis, id. Am. 2, 6, 5: comae, id. F. 4, 854: collum, id. Tr. 3, 5, 15: timor, Verg. A. 1, 202.—Poet., with inf.: animam maestam teneri, Stat. Th. 10. 775.—II. Transf. (poet. and in post-Aug. prose).
A. Like tristis, gloomy, severe by nature:
ille neci maestum mittit Oniten, Verg. A. 12, 514 (naturaliter tristem, severum, quem Graeci σκυθρωπὸν dicunt ἀγέλαστον, Serv.): tacitā maestissimus irā, Val. Fl. 5, 568: oratores maesti et inculti, gloomy, Tac. Or. 24.—B. In gen., connected with mourning; containing, causing, or showing sadness; sad, unhappy, unlucky:
vestis, a mourning garment, Prop. 3, 4 (4, 5), 13: tubae, id. 4 (5), 11, 9: funera, Ov. F. 6, 660; cf.: ossa parentis Condidimus terrā maestasque sacravimus aras, Verg. A. 5, 48: a laevā maesta volavit avis, the bird of ill omen, Ov. Ib. 128: venter, exhausted with hunger, Lucil. ap. Non. 350, 33 (enectus fame, Non.).—Hence, adv., in two forms. * A. maestē, with sadness, saaly, sorrowfully:
maeste, hilariter, Auct. Her. 3, 14, 24.—* B. maestĭter, in a way to indicate sorrow:
maestiter vestitae, Plaut. Rud. 1, 5, 6.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
maestus (not moest-), adj. with sup.
MIS-, full of sadness, sad, sorrowful, dejected, melancholy, gloomy, despondent : cum maestus errares: senex: maestissimus Hector, V.: morte Tigelli, H.: maestam videre urbem, Iu.: voltus, V.: maestae manus, O.: maestas sacravimus aras, V.— Gloomy, severe : Ille neci maestum mittit Oniten, V.: vestis, a mourning garment , Pr.: avis, of ill omen , O.
Origins
Past participle of maereō with active meaning.
Descendants
- Frenchmêtirfrom Old French meste
- Italianmesto
- Portuguesemesto