noun · masculinesecond declension
nūntius
nūntius m (genitive nūntiī or nūntī, feminine nūntia)
Classical[ˈnuːn.ti.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈnun.t͡si.us]
№ 919 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- a messenger, reporter, courier
- an envoy, message, report
- a command, order, injunction
- in pluralnews, tidings, information
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī nova celeriter fert; etiam id quod fertur.nūntius -ī m — in Mille Verba, ch. Via et Iter
quī nova affert; nova ipsanūntius -ī (m) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 5
quī nova adfertnūntius -ī (m) — in Metamorphoses I, †
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | nūntius | nūntiī nūnciī |
| genitive | nūntiī nūntī, nūnciī | nūntiōrum nūnciōrum |
| dative | nūntiō nūnciō | nūntiīs nūnciīs |
| accusative | nūntium nūncium | nūntiōs nūnciōs |
| ablative | nūntiō nūnciō | nūntiīs nūnciīs |
| vocative | nūntie nūncie | nūntiī nūnciī |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- nuntio allato or accepto
- on receiving the news.
- nuntium remittere alicui (De Or. 1. 40)
- to separate, be divorced (used of man or woman).
- nuntia fratri tuo salutem verbis meis (Fam. 7. 14)
- remember me to your brother.
nuntĭus, a, um, adj. perh. contr. from noventius, from obsol. novēre, to make new; v. novus.
I. That announces, signifies, makes known; announcing, informing (poet.):
nuntia fibra deos? Tib. 2, 1, 26: fratre reversuro, nuntia venit avis, Mart. 8, 32, 8: nuntia littera, Ov. H. 6, 9: simulacra In mentes hominum divinae nuntia formae, Lucr. 6, 77; cf. id. 4, 704: habes animi nuntia verba mei, Ov. H. 16, 10: exta venturae nuntia sortis, Tib. 3, 4, 5.—II. Usually as subst.
A. nuntĭum, i, n., an announcement, message, news (rare):
ad aures nova nuntia referens, this new message, Cat. 63, 75; cf.: nuntius est qui nuntiat, nuntium, quod nuntiatur, Serv. Verg. A. 11, 896: de caelo nuntium erit, Varr. L. L. 6, 86: tyrannum perturbant nuntia, Sedul. 2, 474.— B. nuntĭus, i, m., a bearer of news, one who brings intelligence, a reporter, messenger, courier (freq. and class.);
both of persons and things: Mercurius Jovis qui nuntius perhibetur, Plaut. Stich. 2, 1, 1: ad me rus advenit nuntius, id. Merc. 4, 1, 1: o hominem fortunatum, qui ejusmodi nuntios, seu potius Pegasos habet, Cic. Quint. 25, 80: litteris, nuntiis, cohortationibus omnes excitare. id. Phil. 14, 7, 20: facere aliquem certiorem per nuntium, id. Att. 11, 24, 4: aliquid audire sine capite, sine auctore, rumore nuntio, id. Fam. 12, 10, 1: litteras et nuntios mittere ad aliquem, Caes. B. G. 1, 26: nuntius ibis Pelidae, Verg. A. 2, 547: nuntius adfert rem, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 9, 25: nuntius ales, i. e. Mercurius, Ov. H. 16, 68: Mercurius, nuntius Jovis et deorum, Hor. C. 1, 10, 5: nuntii afferunt Darium premi a Scythis, Nep. Milt. 3, 3.—Poet., of a woman: huic dea ... utinam non hic tibi nuntius essem, Val. Fl. 2, 141.—b. A messenger, the bearer of a written message, = tabellarius (very rare):
nuntio ipsius, qui litteras attulerat dici (placuit), Liv. 42, 37, 6.—2. Abstract.
a. In gen., a message, news, tidings:
nuntium exoptabilem nuntiare, Plaut. Stich. 2, 2, 67: opta ergo ob istunc nuntium quidvis tibi, id. Merc. 5, 2, 65: inest lepos in nuntio tuo magnus, id. Rud. 2, 3, 22: acerbum nuntium alicui perferre, Cic. Balb. 28, 64: de Q. Fratre nuntii nobis tristes venerunt, id. Att. 3, 17, 1: exoptatum nuntium alicui afferre, id. Rosc. Am. 7, 19: nuntium optatissimum accipere, id. Fam. 2, 19, 1: nuntium perferre, id. Lig. 3, 7: nuntium ferre ad aliquem, Liv. 4, 41: horribilis nuntius affertur, Cat. 84, 10; Verg. A. 8, 582.—b. In partic.
(a). A command, order, injunction:
quos senatus ad denuntiandum bellum miserat, nisi legatorum nuntio paruisset, Cic. Fam. 12, 24, 2; Nep. Chabr. 3, 1.—(b). Nuntium uxori remittere or mittere, to send one's wife a letter of divorce, Cic. de Or. 1, 40, 183; 56, 238; id. Att. 1, 13, 3; Dig. 24, 2, 4; 24, 3, 22.—Also of a woman who separates from her husband, Cic. Top. 4, 19; App. M. 9, p. 230 med. —Of the annulling of a betrothment:
si invito patrono nuntium sponsa liberta remiserit, Dig. 23, 2, 45.—Of the rejection of the marriage contract by the parents and guardians: ego adeo jam illi remittam nuntium adfini meo, Plaut. Truc. 4, 3, 74: si puellae tutores ad infringenda sponsalia nuntium miserint, Dig. 23, 1, 6.—(g). Hence, transf.:
virtuti nuntium remittere, to renounce, Cic. Fam. 15, 16, 3.—C. nuntĭa, ae, f., a female messenger, she that brings tidings: nuntia fulva Jovis, i. e. the eagle, Poët. ap. Cic. Leg. 1, 1, 2; cf. Liv. 1, 34:
historia nuntia vetustatis, Cic. de Or. 2, 9, 36: vox nuntia cladis, Liv. 5, 50: fama nuntia veri, Verg. A. 4, 188; Ov. P. 4, 4, 15: plaga nuntia rerum, Lucr. 4, 704; cf. Val. Fl. 2, 141; B. 1. a. fin. supra.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
nūntius adj.
1 NV-, that announces, making known, informing : rumor: littera, O.: fibra, Tb. —As subst m., a bearer of tidings, news-carrier, reporter, messenger, courier : per nuntium certiorem facit me: ad Lingonas litteras nuntiosque misit, Cs.: nuntius ibis Pelidae, V.: nuntius adfert rem: Iovis et deorum, H.: nuntii adferunt Darium premi a Scythis, N.: nuntio ipsius, qui litteras attulerat, dici (placuit), L.— A message, news, tidings : Egone te pro hoc nuntio quid donem? T.: in castra nuntius pervenit, coniurationem patefactam, S.: de Q. Fratre nuntii nobis tristes venerant: tam tristem nuntium ferre ad Cincinnatum, L.: gravior neu nuntius aurīs Volneret, V.— A command, order, injunction : legatorum nuntio parere: hic nostri nuntius esto, V.— In the phrase, nuntium remittere, with dat, to send a letter of divorce, put away (a wife): uxori Caesarem nuntium remisisse.—Rarely of the wife: etsi mulier nuntium remisit.—Fig.: cum virtuti nuntium remisisti, renounced.—Plur. n . as subst, a message, news : ad aurīs nova nuntia referens, Ct.: habes animi nuntia verba mei, O.
Origins
Uncertain; competing hypotheses include: * From Proto-Indo-European *newH- (“to cry”), whence Sanskrit नु (nu, “to sound out, praise”), नवते (navate, “to cry”), Old Irish núall (“a loud noise”), Tocharian B nu- (“to roar”). This is tentatively favored by De Vaan. * Contracted from noventius, from an obsolete noveō, from novus, though this is rejected by De Vaan due to the hypothetical proto-form *no(wo)wentio- not making sense morphologically. * From Proto-Indo-European *new- (“to nod”), same source as Latin *nuō, Ancient Greek νεύω (neúō, “to beckon, nod”) and Old Irish noid (“make known”). This derivation may be a relic of an era when laryngeal theory was not as widely accepted and *newH- (“to cry”) was considered the same root as *new- (“to nod”), in which case the *new- derivation should be discarded. * From Etruscan [script needed] (nunth, “to bring”).
Descendants
- Italiannonzolofrom Vulgar Latin *nuntiolus
- Catalannunci
- Englishnuntius
- GermanNuntius
- Italiannunzio
- Frenchnoncefrom Italian nunzio
- Romaniannunțiufrom Italian nunzio
- Occitannonci
- Portuguesenúncio
- Spanishnuncio