conjunction
nēdum
nēdum
Classical[ˈneː.dũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈnɛː.dum]
Meaning
- by no means, much less, not to speak of
- not to say, much more
- let alone
aegre inermem tantam multitudinem, nedum armatam, sustineri posse
we could hardly resist an unarmed crowd, let alone an armed one
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
multō minusnedum — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 18
nē-dum,
I. conj. (lit. while not), by no means, much less, still less, not to speak of (class.), used to indicate that whereas a certain thing is not, another thing can still less be.
A. With a preceding negation:
satrapes si siet Amator, numquam sufferre ejus sumptus queat: Nedum tu possis, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 43: optimis temporibus nec P. Popillius, nec Q. Metellus vim tribuniciam sustinere potuerunt, nedum his temporibus sine vestrā sapientiā salvi esse possimus, Cic. Clu. 35, 95; id. Planc. 37, 90: nulla simulacra urbibus suis, nedum templis, sinunt, Tac. H. 5, 5: ne voce quidem incommoda, nedum ut ulla vis fieret, Liv. 3, 14 fin.—With vix or aegre in the place of the preceding negative: vix in ipsis tectis et oppidis frigus infirmā valetudine vitatur: nedum in mari, Cic. Fam. 16, 8, 2; id. Agr. 2, 35, 97: puerum vixdum libertatem, nedum dominationem modice laturum, Liv. 24, 4, 1: et aegre inermem tantam multitudinem, nedum armatam, sustineri, Liv. 6, 7, 3.—B. Without a preceding negation, which, however, lies in the thought expressed:
erat enim multo domicilium hujus urbis aptius humanitati tuae, quam tota Peloponnesus, nedum Patrae, Cic. Fam. 7, 28, 1: quippe secundae res sapientium animos fatigant: nedum illi corruptis moribus victoriae temperarent, Sall. C. 11, 8: Tac. A. 13, 20.—II. Transf. (post-Aug.), affirmatively, not to say, much more:
adulationes etiam victis Macedonibus graves, nedum victoribus, much more should they prove victors, Liv. 9, 18, 4: Quintius, quem armorum etiam pro patriā satietas teneret, nedum adversus patriam, id. 7, 40; 45, 29; 26, 26: satis mihi jam videbaris animi habere, etiam adversus solida mala, nedum ad istas umbras malorum, quibus, etc., Sen. Ep. 99, 3; Quint. 12, 1, 39: ornamenta etiam legioni, nedum militi, satis multa, Val. Max. 3, 2, 26.—So, by transposition, beginning the sentence (very rare): nedum hominum humilium, sed etiam amplissimorum virorum, not to speak of, I need not say, Balb. et Opp. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 7, A, 1.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
nē-dum
conj, by no means, much less, still less, not to speak of: satrapa numquam queat . . . Nedum tu possis, T.: optimis temporibus . . . nedum his temporibus possimus: ne voce quidem incommodā, nedum ut ulla vis fieret, L.: et aegre inermem tantam multitudinem, nedum armatam, sustineri, L.—Affirmatively, not to say, much more: adulationes etiam victis Macedonibus graves, nedum victoribus, much more should they prove victors, L.: qui vel in pace bellum excitare possent, nedum in bello, etc., L.
Origins
From nē + dum.