noun · masculinefourth declension
nūtus
nūtus m (genitive nūtūs)
Classical[ˈnuː.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈnuː.tus]
Meaning
- a nod, nodding
- a downward tendency or motion; the pull of gravity
- a command, will, pleasure (the nod as an expression of will and authority: compare nūmen)
ad nūtum praestō esse
to be at one's complete disposalAriovistum autem […] superbe et crudeliter imperare, obsides nobilissimi cuiusque liberos poscere et in eos omnia exempla cruciatusque edere, si qua res non ad nutum aut ad voluntatem eius facta sit.
Moreover, [as for] Ariovistus, […] [he began] to lord it haughtily and cruelly, to demand as hostages the children of all the principal nobles, and wreak on them every kind of cruelty, if every thing was not done at his nod or pleasure.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.31
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
mōtus capitisnūtus -ūs (m) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 6
nod, will
nūtus -ūs (m) — in De Bello Gallico III
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | nūtus | nūtūs |
| genitive | nūtūs | nūtuum |
| dative | nūtuī | nūtibus |
| accusative | nūtum | nūtūs |
| ablative | nūtū | nūtibus |
| vocative | nūtus | nūtūs |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- nutus et pondus or simply nutus (ῥοπή)
- gravity.
- se convertere, converti ad alicuius nutum
- to take one's directions from another; to obey him in everything.
- totum se fingere et accommodare ad alicuius arbitrium et nutum
- to be at the beck and call of another; to be his creature.
nūtus, ūs, m. nuo, ĕre (of abnuo, etc.); cf. nuto,
I. a nodding, a nod.
I. Lit.:
Scipio nutu finire disceptationem potuisset, Liv. 34, 62: nutu tremefecit Olympum, Verg. A. 9, 106: digitisque saepe est nutuque locutus, Ov. Tr. 2, 453: signaque dat nutu, id. F. 1, 418: nutus conferre loquaces, Tib. 1, 2, 21: digiti, i.e. a beckoning, Tert. adv. Herm. 27: membrorum, Plin. 6, 30, 35, § 188: uno meo nutu jugulari utrumque vestrum posse, Suet. Calig. 32: nutibus oculorum, winks, Vulg. Isa. 3, 16.—B. Transf., a downward tendency or motion, gravity:
terrena suopte nutu et suo pondere in terram ferri, Cic. Tusc. 1, 17, 40: terra suā vi nutuque tenetur, id. de Or. 3, 45, 178; so in plur., id. N. D. 2, 39, 98.—II. Trop., command, will, pleasure:
ad eorum arbitrium et nutum totos se fingunt, Cic. Or. 8, 24: jura omnia praetoris nutu atque arbitrio meretriculae gubernari, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 13, § 34: ad alicujus voluntatem nutumque convertere, id. Fam. 3, 10, 10: omnia deorum nutu atque potestate administrari, id. Cat. 3, 9, 21: auctoritate nutuque iegum domitas habere libidines, id. de Or. 1, 43, 194: paratum esse ad nutum, id. Phil. 7, 6, 18: ad nutum praesto esse, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 31, § 78: respirare contra nutum dicionemque alicujus, id. Quint. 30, 94: alterius sub nutu degitur aetas, Lucr. 4, 1122: saevae nutu Junonis eunt res, Verg. A. 7, 592.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
nūtus —, abl. ū (only nom sing. and acc. and abl sing. and plur.), m
2 NV-, a nodding, nod : id significare nutu: nutu finire disceptationem, L.: nutu tremefecit Olympum, V.: nutu signa remittis, O.— A hint, intimation : an mihi nutus tuus non faceret fidem?— A tendency, inclination, gravity : terrena suopte nutu in terram ferri: terra in sese nutibus suis conglobata.—Fig., assent, compliance : adnuite nutum numenque vestrum invictum Campanis, L.— Command, will, pleasure : res ad nutum eius facta, Cs.: omnia deorum nutu administrari: contra nutum Naevi: ad nutūs aptus erilīs, H.: nutu Iunonis eunt res, V.: sub nutu atque arbitrio alcuius esse, L.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin nūtus From *nuō + -tus.
Descendants
- Italiannuto
- Portuguesenuto