adverb
num
num (not comparable)
Classical[ˈnũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈnum]
№ 924 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- not comparablea particle usually expecting a negation, such as: Is it? It isn’t, is it?
Num Sparta īnsula est? — Nōn est īnsula.
Sparta is not an island, is it? — It's not an island.Num igitur hōrum senectūs miserābilis fuit, quī sē agrī cultiōne oblectābant?
Was the old age of these men then miserable — men who found such delight in the tilling of their land? [On the contrary, these distinguished elders enjoyed life on their country estates.]106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 16.56 - not comparablewhether
- not comparablenow (only in the phrase etiam num)
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
(interrog.) an, utrumnum — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 7
num, adv. an acc. m., of which nam is the acc. f., an interrog. particle, usually implying that a negative answer is expected.
I. In a direct interrogation (no corresp. term in English).
(a). Num esse amicum suspicari visus est? Plaut. Merc. 1, 2, 102; Ter. And. 2, 2, 29:
num igitur tot ducum naufragium sustulit artem gubernandi? aut num imperatorum scientia nihil est, quia, etc., Cic. Div. 1, 14, 24: num exspectatis, dum L. Metellus testimonium dicat? Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 53, § 122; id. Rep. 1, 11, 17: num barbarorum Romulus rex fuit? id. ib. 1, 37, 58.—(b). Followed by an, contmuing the inquiry:
num furis, an prudens ludis me obscura canendo? Hor. S. 2, 5, 58: num iratum timemus Jovem? ... an ne turpiter faceret, Cic. Off. 3, 28, 102.—(g). Esp., with quis, quando ( = aliquis, aliquando):
numquis hic est? nemo est, Ter. Eun. 3, 5, 1: num quae trepidatio? num qui tumultus? Cic. Deiot. 7, 20: num quando perditis civibus vexillum defuturum putatis? id. Phil. 5, 11, 29.—(d). Num quid (also numquid) vis? do you wish any thing further? is there any thing else? a very common form of leave-taking, Plaut. Am. 1, 3, 44; 46; 3, 3, 15 et saep.; cf. Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 49 Don.; Cic. Att. 6, 3, 6; 5, 2, 2; Liv. 6, 34, 7;
for which, also: numquid me vis? Plaut. Cist. 1, 1, 119; id. Mil. 2, 6, 92; and elliptically: numquid me? Plaut. Poen. 3, 6, 6. —(ε) Numquid is also used adverbially; v. numquid.—(ζ) Joined to nam and ne numnam, numne, in anxious and surprised inquiry: eho numnam hic relictus custos? Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 55: numne vis me ire ad cenam? Plaut. Truc. 2, 6, 65: deum ipsum numne vidisti? Cic. N. D. 1, 31, 88; id. Lael. 11, 36 (so B. and K., Halm. But Ritschl, Opusc. 2, 248, denies the Latinity of the form numne; cf. Hand, Turs. 4, 79; and, contra, Rib. Lat. Part. p. 13).—II. In an indirect interrogation, whether:
quaero, num aliter ac nunc eveniunt, evenirent? Cic. Fat. 3, 6: videte, num dubitandum vobis sit, omni studio ad id bellum incumbere, id. Imp. Pomp. 7, 19: jusserunt speculari, num sollicitati animi sociorum essent, Liv. 42, 19: exsistit hoc loco quaedam quaestio subdifficilis: num quando amici novi, digni amicitiā veteribus sint anteponendi, Cic. Lael. 19, 67; so, num quando, id. Phil. 5, 11, 29; id. Vatin. 6, 17: num quis, id. Att. 13, 8; id. Clu. 38, 105; id. Off. 1, 3, 7: videamus ergo, num expositio haec longior demum esse debeat, whether this explanation should not be a little longer still, Quint. 4, 2, 79: consultus, num et ... vellet, whether he did not also wish, Suet. Aug. 18.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
num adv.
1 NV-.
I. I. Of time, now (correl. of tum), only in the phrase, etiam num, see etiam. —
II. II. As interrog particle .
A. A. Introducing a direct question, usu. expecting a negative answer, then, now (often only rendered by the interrogative form of the sentence): num videntur convenire haec nuptiis? does this look like a wedding? T.: num expectatis, dum Metellus testimonium dicat? are you waiting then for Metellus to give evidence? : num est ferendum?: num non vis audire, cur? etc., will you not, then, hear? —With -ne (rare): numne, si habuit amicos, ferre contra patriam arma debuerunt?—Followed by an : Num furis, an prudens ludis me? are you mad, or? etc., H.: num iratum timemus Iovem? . . . an ne turpiter faceret.—With quis, quid (indefinite; often written numquis, numquid): numquis hic est? nemo est, T.: num quae trepidatio? num qui tumultus?: num quid vis? have you any commands? (usu. a form of taking leave), T.—With nam , in eager or anxious questioning (old): Num nam perimus? are we ruined then? T.—
B. B. In an indirect question, whether : videte, num dubitandum vobis sit, etc.: speculari, num sollicitati animi essent, L.: quaero, num permittas.
num quandō see quando.
Origins
From Proto-Indo-European *nū (“now”).