LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

mundus1

mundus (feminine munda, neuter mundum, comparative mundior, superlative mundissimus, adverb munditer)
Classical[ˈmʊn.dʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈmun.dus]
№ 350 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectiveclean, pure; neat
  2. adjectivenice, fine, elegant, sophisticated
  3. adjectivedecorated, adorned
  4. adjectivepure (trait)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

caelum et terra et omnia quae in eīs sunt.
mundus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Purus · Mundus · Merus · Putus · Meracus

1. Purus (ψωρός) denotes purity, as a synonyme of integer, and in opp. to contaminatus, like καθαρός, Suet. Vesp. 9; whereas mundus, as a synonyme of nitidus, and in opp. to spurcus or sordidus, like κομψός; Senec. Ep. 70. Sall. Jug. 85. Hor. Sat. ii. 1, 65; lastly, merus (from μείρω) as a synonyme of simplex, and in opp. to mixtus, like ἀκήρατος, ἀκέραιος. Colum. iii. 21. 2. Purus is the general and popular, putus, or usually purus putus, purus ac putus, the technical expression for the purity of gold and silver, that are solid and without alloy. 3. Merus denotes anything unmixed, indifferently, or with praise, as a mixture may be an adulteration; whereas meracus refers especially to unmixed wine, and, figuratively, it is transferred to other objects, and means unmixed in a bad sense, as that which is without its proper ingredients, like the old German word, eitel, thin and poor in quality, in opp. to temperatus. Cic. Rep. i. 43. (iii. 204.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativemundusmundamundum
genitivemundīmundaemundī
dativemundōmundaemundō
accusativemundummundammundum
ablativemundōmundāmundō
vocativemundemundamundum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativemundīmundaemunda
genitivemundōrummundārummundōrum
dativemundīsmundīsmundīs
accusativemundōsmundāsmunda
ablativemundīsmundīsmundīs
vocativemundīmundaemunda

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

rerum or mundi universitas
the universe.
totius mundi convenientia et consensus
the perfect harmony of the universe.
mundanus, mundi civis et incola (Tusc. 5. 37)
a citizen of the world; cosmopolitan.
deus mundum aedificavit, fabricatus est, effecit (not creavit)
God made the world.
deus est mundi procreator (not creator), aedificator, fabricator, opifex rerum
God is the Creator of the world.

mundus, a, um, adj. Sanscr. mund, purificari,
I. clean, cleanly, nice, neat, elegant.
I. Lit. (class.; syn.: lautus, nitidus, purus): supellex, Hor. Ep. 1, 5, 7: caena, id. C. 3, 29, 14: ager, Gell. 19, 12, 8: mundissimum cubile desiderat (animal), Col. 7, 9, 14: jam intus mundissimumst, Plaut. Truc. 2, 7, 7.—Poet., with abl., = ornatus: Ostia munita est: idem loca navibus pulchris Munda facit, adorned, Enn. ap. Tert. p. 258 Müll. (Ann. v. 146 Vahl.).—
B. Transf.
1. Of mode of living, neat, fine, elegant, smart, genteel: cultus justo mundior, too elegant dress, Liv. 8, 15.— As subst.: mundus, i, m. (sc. homo), an elegant or nice person, Cic. Fin. 2, 8, 23.—
2. Of quality, not coarse, fine (post-class.): annonae, of wheat, Lampr. Alex. Sev. 42, 3: panis, id. ib. 37, 3.—
II. Trop.
A. Of speech, neat, fine, elegant (poet. and in postclass. prose): verba, Ov A. A. 3, 479: versus, quibus mundius nihil reperiri puto, Gell. 19, 9, 10: in Gallos mundius subtiliusque est, quam cum Gallis aut contra Gallos, id. 17, 2 med.—
B. Subst.: mun-dum, i. n., only in the phrase: in mundo (esse or habere), in readiness (ante-class.): tibi vita seu mors in mundo est, Enn. ap. Charis. p. 181 P. (Ann. v. 457 Vahl.: in mundo pro palam et in expedito ac cito, Charis.): nempe habeo in mundo, Plaut. Pers. 1, 1, 46: mihi in mundo sunt virgae, id. As. 2, 1, 16; 2, 2, 50: nescio quid vero habeo in mundo, id. Stich. 3, 2, 23; id. Ps. 1, 5, 85 Ritschl.—
C. In eccl. Lat., morally pure, upright, free from sin: cor mundum crea in me, Deus, Vulg. Psa. 50, 12: beati mundo corde, id. Matt. 5, 8.—Hence, adv., in two forms (both, for the most part, anteand post-class.).—
a. mundē, cleanly, neatly, prettily: (copia) in suo quaeque loco sita munde, Plaut. Poen. 5, 4, 5: verrite aedes, spargite munde, Titin. ap. Charis. p. 183 P.: parum munde et parum decenter, Sen. Ep. 70, 20: munde facti versus, Gell. 10, 17, 2: quam mundissime purissimeque fiat, Cato, R. R. 66, 1.—
b. mun-dĭter, cleanly, neatly.
1. Lit.: cum sedulo munditer nos habeamus, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 26.—
2. Trop., decently, with propriety: dicere, App. Mag. p. 296, 14.

Origins

Uncertain. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mud-no (“happy, cheerful”), from the root *mewd- (“to become happy”).

Descendants
  • Italianmondo
  • Frenchmondefrom Old French monde

In English words that came into English from mundus

  • mundanemundānus
  • ultramundaneultrāmundānus
  • mondialmundiālis
  • immundimmundus
  • mundificantmundificans
noun · masculinesecond declension
mundus2
mundus m (genitive mundī)
№ 350 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculineuniverse, world, esp. the heavens and the heavenly bodies
    Vōs, ō clārissima mundī / lūmina, lābentem caelō quae dūcitis annum; /Oh ye, most radiant lights of the heavens, who lead the gliding year in the skyc. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 1.5
    Sed quid et Ōrīōn et cētera sīdera mundōBut why are Orion and the other star-patterns hurrying to depart from heaven, and night is curtailing its journey? (It is May; nighttime is becoming shorter, and Ovid imagines even the mighty Orion (constellation) hurrying from the sky because Rome will soon celebrate the Temple of Mars Ultor; see also: Mars (mythology).)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.545–546
  2. masculinemankind (inhabitants of the earth)
    miserīque fuit spēs inrita mundī, / posse ducēs parvā campī statiōne diremptōs / admōtum damnāre nefās.The unfortunate world's hope turned out in vain, the hope that the leaders, separated by a small field distance, could condemn the impiety drawing near.61 CE – 65 CE, Lucanus, Pharsalia 5.469–471
    Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum ut filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis qui credit in eum non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam.For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him may not perish but have eternal life.c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Evangelium secundum Ioannem.3.16
  3. Medieval Latinmasculinecentury
  4. Medieval Latinmasculinegroup of people
  5. masculineimplement
  6. masculineornaments, decorations, dress (of a woman)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemundusmundī
genitivemundīmundōrum
dativemundōmundīs
accusativemundummundōs
ablativemundōmundīs
vocativemundemundī

mundus, i, m. (
I. neutr. collat. form, mundum: legavit quidam uxori mundum omne penumque, all her toilet, Lucil. ap. Gell. 4, 1, 3, and ap. Non. 214, 17) [1. mundus], toilet ornaments, decorations, dress (of a woman).
I. Lit.: mundus muliebris est, quo mulier mundior fit: continentur eo specula, matulae, unguenta, vasa unguentaria, et si qua similia dici possunt, veluti lavatio, riscus ... Unguenta, quibus valetudinis causā unguimur, mundo non continentur, Dig. 34, 2, 25: munditiae et ornatus et cultus, haec feminarum insignia sunt: hunc mundum muliebrem appellārunt majores nostri, Liv. 34, 7, 9: virginalis, Att. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 142 Müll.: quamvis auro, veste, gemmis, omnique cetero mundo exornata mulier incedat, App. M. 2, p. 118. —
II. Transf.
A. In gen., an implement (ante- and post-class.): operae messoriae mundus, implements for the harvest work, App. M. 6 init.: Cereris, the mystical casket of Ceres, id. Mag. p. 282 (the expression in mundo esse and habere belongs to the adj. mundus, v. mundus, II. B.).—
B. Like the Gr. κόσμος, the universe, the world, esp. the heavens and the heavenly bodies: ut hunc hac varietate distinctum bene Graeci κόσμον, nos lucentem mundum nominaremus, the heavens, Cic. Univ. 10: nam quem κόσμος Graeci, nomine ornamenti appellaverunt. eum nos a perfectā absolutāque elegantiā, mundum, Plin. 2, 4, 3, § 8: concussit micantia sidera mundus, heaven shook, Cat. 64, 206: aetherius, Tib. 3, 4, 17: arduus, Verg. G. 1, 240: aestuat infelix angusto limite mundi, Juv. 10, 169. Also: mundus caeli, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 2 (Sat. v. 10, p. 156 Vahl.): o clarissima mundi Lumina, Verg. G. 1, 5 sq.: immensi copia mundi, Ov. M. 2, 157: ipse mundus deorum hominumque causā factus est...Est enim mundus quasi communis deorum atque hominum domus, aut urbs utrorumque, the world, Cic. N. D. 2, 62, 154: innumerabiles, id. Ac. 2, 17, 55: e tabulā pictos ediscere mundos, parts of the world, Prop. 5, 3, 37.—
2. Transf.
a. The world, i. e. the earth, the inhabitants of the earth, mankind (poet.): quicumque mundo terminus obstitit, Hor. C. 3, 3, 53: spes miseri mundi, Luc. 5, 469; Stat. S. 3, 3, 87: fastos evolvere mundi, Hor. S. 1, 3, 112: mundum laedere, mankind, Claud. Ruf. 1, 87: nullā in parte mundi cessat ebrietas, Plin. 14, 22, 29, § 149; 30, 1, 2, § 8; Flor. 2, 12, 1; Just. 30, 4, 9: (Alexander) scrutatur maria ignota, et, ut ita dicam, mundi claustra perrumpit, Sen. Ep. 119, 7: mundi principio, Juv. 15, 147.—
b. The heavens, i. e. the sky, the weather (post-class.): tepida indulget terris clementia mundi, Grat. Fal. 288: ad Eoos tractūs mundique teporem, Luc. 8, 365.—
c. The sun (perh. only in Manilius): quā mundus redit, Manil. Astron. 1, 36; id. ib. 3, 591.—
d. Euphemistically for the Lower World, the infernal regions. The opening into this mundus was at Rome, in the Comitium, and was kept covered with a stone (lapis manalis); three times in the year, on the 24th of August, the 5th of October, and the 8th of November, days sacred to the gods of the infernal regions, this round pit was opened, and all sorts of fruits were thrown into it as offerings, Varr. ap. Macr. S. 1, 16, 18; Paul. ex Fest. s. v mundus, p. 154 Müll., and s. v. manalem lapidem, p. 128 ib.—
e. Esp. (eccl. Lat.), the world as opposed to the church; this world, the realm of sin and death, as opposed to Christ's kingdom of holiness and life: non pro mundo rogo, Vulg. Johan. 17, 9: de mundo non sunt, id. ib. 17, 16: princeps hujus mundi (i. e. Satan), id. ib. 12, 31; 14, 30: regnum meum non est de hoc mundo, id. ib. 18, 36; cf. id. Eph. 2, 2; 6, 12.

Origins

Uncertain. Perhaps connected to Etruscan 𐌌𐌖𐌍𐌈 (munθ), whose exact meaning is unknown. Etymology 2 sense 1 is a semantic loan from Ancient Greek κόσμος (kósmos).

Elsewhere
  • Italianmondo
  • Englishmondofrom Italian mondo
  • Frenchmondefrom Old French monde
  • Englishmondefrom Old French monde
  • Catalanmónfrom Old Occitan mon
  • Occitanmondfrom Old Occitan mon
  • Portuguesemundofrom Old Galician-Portuguese mundo
  • Portuguesemũdofrom Old Galician-Portuguese mundo
  • Spanishmundofrom Old Spanish mundo
  • Sardinianmundhu
Navarro-Aragonese
  • Aragonesemundo
Old Leonese
  • Asturianmundiu
  • Asturianmundu
  • Extremaduranmundu
  • Leonesemundiu
  • Mirandesemundo
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianmond
  • Ladinmond
  • Romanshmund
  • Romanshmond
  • Romanshmuond

In English words that came into English from mundus

  • mundivagantmundus
  • intermundiumintermundium

Quick answers

What does mundus mean in Latin?
mundus, a adjective, means “clean, pure; neat; nice, fine, elegant, sophisticated”.
How do you pronounce mundus?
In classical Latin, [ˈmʊn.dʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmun.dus].
Which English words come from mundus?
English words that go back to Latin mundus include mundane, mondial, immund, ultramundane and mundificant.