adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
modestus1
modestus (feminine modesta, neuter modestum, comparative modestior, superlative modestissimus, adverb modestē)
Classical[mɔˈdɛs.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[moˈdɛs.tus]
Meaning
- adjectivemoderate, calm, restrained, mild
- adjectivemodest, reserved, discreet
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī dē sē parva dīcitmodestus -a -um — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 1
quī pudōrem servatmodestus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 10
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | modestus | modesta | modestum |
| genitive | modestī | modestae | modestī |
| dative | modestō | modestae | modestō |
| accusative | modestum | modestam | modestum |
| ablative | modestō | modestā | modestō |
| vocative | modeste | modesta | modestum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | modestī | modestae | modesta |
| genitive | modestōrum | modestārum | modestōrum |
| dative | modestīs | modestīs | modestīs |
| accusative | modestōs | modestās | modesta |
| ablative | modestīs | modestīs | modestīs |
| vocative | modestī | modestae | modesta |
mŏdestus, a, um, adj. modus,
I. keeping due measure, moderate; esp. in behavior, modest; as respects anger, calm, gentle, dispassionate; towards others, kind, forbearing, temperate, mild; in morals, honest, virtuous, sober, discreet, moral (class.):
vir modestus et frugi, unassuming, modest, Cic. Att. 13, 29, 1: adulescentuli modestissimi pudor, id. Planc. 11, 27: plebs modestissima (opp. seditiosa), id. Agr. 2, 31, 84: epistula ut adversus magistrum morum modestior, id. Fam. 3, 13, 2: oculi, Ov. Am. 2, 4, 11: vultus, id. ib. 1, 4, 15: lingua, id. H. 18 (19), 63: verba, id. Am. 3, 14, 16: o modestum ordinem, kind, gentle, mild, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 47, § 124: in ea (urbe) isti vestri satellites modesti insolentiam suam continebunt, id. Agr. 1, 6, 18: mendicis modesti, kind, friendly, Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 12: mulier proba et modesta, modest, Ter. Ad. 5, 8, 7; cf.: videas, dolere rebus flagitiosis modestos, Cic. Lael. 13, 47: modestissimi mores, id. Planc. 1, 3: ingenui parum modesti, Quint. 1, 2, 4: servitia, Tac. A. 4, 7: vultus modesto sanguine fervens, Juv. 10, 300.—Hence, adv.: mŏdestē, with moderation, moderately, temperately, discreetly, modestly (class.): modice et modeste vitam vivere, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 18: ea quae, etiam ... cum modeste fiunt, tamen ipsa per se molesta sunt, Cic. Att. 9, 19, 1: rebus secundis modeste ac moderate uti, Liv. 30, 42: hosti intrepide modesteque obviam ire, quietly, Gell. 9, 11, 6: modestissime vivere, Varr. ap. Non. 1, 274: qui modeste paret, Cic. Leg. 3, 2, 5: intueri, Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 32: parcius et modestius praetentare misericordiam judicis, Quint. 4, 1, 28: si ille Romam modeste venturus est, without hostile violence, Cic. Fam. 14, 14, 1.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
modestus adj. with comp. and sup.
modus, keeping due measure, moderate, modest, gentle, forbearing, temperate, sober, discreet : sermo, S.: adulescentis modestissimi pudor: plebs modestissima: epistula modestior: voltus, T.: verba, O.: mulier, modest , T.: modestissimi mores: voltus modesto sanguine fervens, Iu.—As subst: modestus Occupat obscuri speciem, the reserved man passes for gloomy , H.
Origins
From the same root as modus m (“measure, manner”), but not directly derived from this noun, which declines in Latin as a masculine o-stem. The form modestus is made up of components derived from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”) + *-os (noun-forming suffix) + *-tós (adjective-forming suffix) (Classical Latin -tus), with an exact cognate in Umbrian mersto; this implies the existence at some point of a neuter s-stem noun (also indirectly attested by the -er- found in moderor). Compare scelestus, derived from the s-stem noun scelus n (or an ancestral form of it).
Descendants
- Catalanmodest
- Englishmodest
- Frenchmodeste
- Italianmodesto
- Portuguesemodesto
- Romanianmodest
- Spanishmodesto
- Albanianmodest
- Galicianmodesto