LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

membrum

membrum n (genitive membrī)
Classical[ˈmɛm.brũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɛm.brum]
№ 481 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterlimb of the body; member.
  2. euphemisticneuterthe penis (membrum virīle)
  3. neutera portion, division
  4. neuterapartment, room in a house
  5. neutermember of the state
  6. Late Latinneutermember of the Body of Christ, member of the church
  7. neuterrhetoricclause of a sentence

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pars corporis: bracchia et crūra membra sunt.
membrum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Membrum · Artus

Membrum (redupl. of μέρος) denotes a limb of the body itself, like μέλος and κῶλον; whereas artus (ῥέθος, ἄρθρον,) properly only a joint of a limb, like ἄρθρον and ἅψος. Senec. Contr. ii. 13. Differebatur distortis articulis; nondum in sua membra artus redierant. Virg. Æn. v. 422. Magnos artus membrorum. Quintil. Decl. ult. Ut per singulos artus membra laxaret. Further, membra denotes the limbs collectively, including the head and trunk, as parts of the body; whereas artus only the extremities, which per commissuras with the body, properly so called, namely, the head and trunk, hang together. Gell. N. A. i. 14. (iv. 150.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemembrummembra
genitivemembrīmembrōrum
dativemembrōmembrīs
accusativemembrummembra
ablativemembrōmembrīs
vocativemembrummembra

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

omnibus membris captum esse
to be affected by disease in every limb; to be paralysed.

membrum, i, n. etym. dub.; perh. for mems-trum; cf. Sanscr. māmsa, flesh,
I. a limb, member of the body (class.).
I. Lit.: jam membrorum, id est partium corporis, alia videntur propter eorum usum a natura esse donata, ut manus, crura, pedes, etc. . . . alia quasi ad quendam ornatum, ut cauda pavoni, plumae versicolores columbis, viris mammae atque barba, Cic. Fin. 3, 5, 18; Plaut. Am. 5, 1, 66: defessa, Verg. G. 4, 438; Suet. Vesp. 20: hispida membra, Juv. 2, 11: membrum lacerum laesumve, Gell. 4, 2, 15: propter membrum ruptum talio, Gai. Inst. 3, 223.—
B. In partic., = membrum virile, Auct. Priap. 70, 17. So plur. membra, Ov. Am. 3, 7, 65; cf. App. M. 5, 6, p. 161; id. ib. 10, 31, p. 254; Aus. Epigr. 120, 4.—
II. Transf.
A. In gen.
1. Of inanim. and abstr. things, a part, portion, division: omnes philosophiae partes atque omnia membra, Cic. N. D. 1, 4, 9: solvere quassatae parcite membra ratis, Ov. Tr. 1, 2, 2: per omnia philosophiae membra prudenter disputando currere, Amm. 16, 5, 6: eadem sunt membra in utrāque disputatione, Cic. de Or. 3, 30, 119 —
2. Of persons: Ponticus . . . Bassus . . . dulcia convictūs membra fuere mei, Ov. Tr. 4, 10, 48: membra et partes alienae potentiae, Sen. Ep. 21, 6; cf. poet.: fluctuantia membra Libyae, Sil. 2, 310.—
B. Esp.
1. A member of the state: per multa membra civitas in unum tantum corpus redigitur, Just. 5, 10, 10: membra partesque imperii, Suet. Aug. 48: reipublicae totius membra, Amm. 18, 5, 1: urbis, id. 15, 7, 5: Achaei scilicet per civitates velut per membra divisi sunt, unum tamen corpus et unum imperium habent, Just. 34, 1, 2: corpore sic toto ac membris Roma usa. Sil. 12, 318: cur ut decisa atque avulsa a corpore membra despiciar, id. 1, 670.—
2. An apartment, chamber in a house: dormitorium membrum, a bed-chamber, Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 9: domūs membra, App. M. 3, 28, p. 141; 7, 1, p. 188: modus membrorum numerusque, Col. 6, 1, 1: cubicula et ejusmodi membra, Cic. ad Q. Fr. 3, 1, 1, § 2.—
3. Of speech, a member or clause of a sentence: quae Graeci κόμματα et κῶλα nominant, nos recte incisa et membra dicimus, Cic. Or. 62, 211; cf. Auct. Her. 4, 19, 26.—
4. Of the Church of Christ: singuli autem alter alterius membra, Vulg. Rom. 12, 5; cf. the context: membra sumus corporis ejus, i. e. Christ's, id. Eph. 5, 30.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *memzrom, from Proto-Indo-European *mḗms, *mēms-rom (“flesh”).

Descendants
  • Catalanmembre
  • Frenchmembrefrom Old French membre
  • Romanianmembrufrom Old French membre
  • Englishmemberfrom Old French membre
  • Italianmembro
  • Occitanmembre
  • Portuguesemembrofrom Old Galician-Portuguese nembro
  • Sardinianmembru
  • Spanishmiembro
  • Asturianmiembru

In English words that came into English from membrum

  • membermembrum
  • membranemembrāna
  • membralmembrum

Quick answers

What does membrum mean in Latin?
membrum, a noun, means “limb of the body; member.; the penis (membrum virīle)”.
What is the genitive of membrum?
The genitive singular is membrī. membrum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce membrum?
In classical Latin, [ˈmɛm.brũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmɛm.brum].
Which English words come from membrum?
English words that go back to Latin membrum include member, membral and membrane.