adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
obscēnus
obscēnus (feminine obscēna, neuter obscēnum, superlative obscēnissimus)
Classical[ɔpˈskeː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[obˈʃɛː.nus]
Meaning
- adjectiveinauspicious, ominous, portentous
- adjectiverepulsive, offensive, abominable, hateful, disgusting, filthy
- adjectiveimmodest, impure, indecent, lewd, obscene
nunc mihi cūr cantent superest obscēna puellae
Now it remains for me to say why the girls sing obscene songs, for they get together and recite certain indecencies. (The ancient Roman festival of Anna Perenna included merry references to a mythological prank: After Mars asked the elderly goddess Anna to help him woo young Minerva, a veiled Anna fooled Mars by entering his bedchamber herself and mocking the god once he realized the deception.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.675–676
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | obscēnus | obscēna | obscēnum |
| genitive | obscēnī | obscēnae | obscēnī |
| dative | obscēnō | obscēnae | obscēnō |
| accusative | obscēnum | obscēnam | obscēnum |
| ablative | obscēnō | obscēnā | obscēnō |
| vocative | obscēne | obscēna | obscēnum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | obscēnī | obscēnae | obscēna |
| genitive | obscēnōrum | obscēnārum | obscēnōrum |
| dative | obscēnīs | obscēnīs | obscēnīs |
| accusative | obscēnōs | obscēnās | obscēna |
| ablative | obscēnīs | obscēnīs | obscēnīs |
| vocative | obscēnī | obscēnae | obscēna |
obscēnus (obscaen-, and less properly obscoen-), a, um, adj. perh. ob and caenum, filth,
I. of adverse, unfavorable, evil omen; ill-boding, inauspicious, ominous, portentous (cf.: sinister, funestus): apud antiquos omnes fere obscena dicta sunt, quae mali ominis habebantur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 201 Müll.: obsceni interpres funestique ominis auctor, Matius ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 96 Müll.; Att. ap. Non. 357, 16:
deūm rixa vertat verba obscena, Lucil. ib. 357, 17; Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 8, 361 (Ann. v. 182 Vahl.): montem istum (Aventinum) excluserunt, quasi avibus obscenis ominosum (viz., by reason of the birds, which gave unfavorable omens to Remus), Mess. ap. Gell. 13, 14, 6; so, volucres, birds of illomen, i. e. owls, Verg. A. 12, 876: canes, id. G. 1, 470: obscenum ostentum, Suet. Galb. 4: omen, Cic. Dom. 55, 140: puppis, the fatal ship, that bore Helen when she eloped with Paris to Troy, Ov. H. 5, 119; cf.: Troja, Cat. 68, 99: anus, old witches, hags, Hor. Epod. 5, 98.—Sup.: Alliesis dies dicebatur apud Romanos obscenissimi ominis, Paul. ex Fest. s. v. Alliesis, p. 7 Müll.—II. Transf., repulsive, offensive, abominable, hateful, disgusting, filthy.
A. In gen. (poet. and in post-Aug. prose;
syn.: immundus, turpis): (Allecto) frontem obscenam rugis arat, Verg. A. 7, 417: volucres pelagi, i. e. the harpies, id. ib. 3, 241; 262: upupa, obscena alias pastu avis, Plin. 10, 29, 44, § 86; cf. fames, Verg. A. 3, 367: haustus, of filthy water, Luc. 4, 312: cruor, Verg. A. 4, 455.— As subst.: obscēna, ōrum, n., the excrements, Sen. Ep. 8, 1, 20; also, the urine: qui clam latuit reddente obscena puellā, Ov. R. Am. 437; cf. Mel. 1, 9.—B. In partic., offensive to modesty, i. e. immodest, impure, indecent, lewd, obscene (class.;
syn.: spurcus, impurus): delicatae et obscenae voluptates, Cic. N. D. 1, 40, 111: adulterium, Ov. Tr. 2, 212: obscenas tabellas pingere, Prop. 2, 5, 19 (6, 27): carmina, id. 1, 16, 10: gestus motusque, Tac. A. 15, 37: obscenum in modum formata commotaque manus, i. e. so as to suggest impure thoughts, Suet. Calig. 56: jocandi genus flagitiosum, obscenum, Cic. Off. 1, 29, 104: si obscena nudis nominibus enuntientur, Quint. 8, 3, 38: quodque facere turpe non est, modo occulte, id dicere obscenum est, Cic. Off. 1, 35, 127; cf. id. ib. § 128; Quint. 11, 3, 125. —Comp.: illud Antipatri paulo obscenius, Cic. Tusc. 5, 38, 112: abjectior et obscenior vita, Val. Max. 3, 5 fin.—Sup.: obscenissimi versus, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 3, 2; Vell. 2, 83, 2.— 2. Subst.
(b). obscēna, ōrum, less freq. in the sing., obscēnum, i. n., the private parts, τὰ αἰδοῖα.—Plur.:
Nymphe fugiens obscena Priapi, Ov. M. 9, 347; cf.: pars nudi agunt, pars tantum obscena velati, Mel. 3, 7: obscena, Suet. Calig. 58; id. Dom. 10: obscena corporis, Just. 1, 6.—Sing.: virile, Ov. F. 6, 631; Lact. 1, 21, 28; id. Epit. 23, 8; Jul. Obsequ. 84.—Hence, also, adv.: obscēnē (acc. to II. B), impurely, indecently, lewdly, obscenely (class.): latrocinari, fraudare, adulterare, re turpe est, sed dicitur non obscene, Cic. Off. 1, 35, 128.—Comp.: cujus (Mercurii) obscenius excitata natura traditur, Cic. N. D. 3, 22, 56: obscenius concurrerent litterae, id. de Or. 45, 154.—Sup.: impudicissime et obscenissime vixit, Eutr. 8, 22.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
obscēnus (obscaen-, not obscoenus), adj. with comp. and sup.
1 SAV-, of adverse omen, ill-omened, ill-boding, inauspicious, ominous, portentous: volucres, of ill-omen, V.: animalium fetūs, monstrous, L.: omen: puppis, fatal ship, O.: anūs, H.—Repulsive, offensive, abominable, hateful, disgusting, filthy: frons, V.: volucres pelagi, i. e. the harpies, V.—Immodest, impure, indecent, lewd, obscene: adulterium, O.: id dicere obscenum est: illud Antipatri paulo obscenius: obscenissimi versūs.—As subst m., a lewd person, Iu.—As subst n., sing. and plur, the private parts, O.
Origins
Uncertain. According to Pokorny, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweyn- (“to soil; mud; filth”) and cognate with inquinō, caenum, cūniō and whin.
Descendants
- Catalanobscè
- Germanobszön
- Italianosceno
- Frenchobscènefrom Middle French obscene
- Romanianobscenfrom Middle French obscene
- Englishobscenefrom Middle French obscene
- Occitanobscèn
- Portugueseobsceno
- Spanishobsceno
- Galicianobsceno
In English words that came into English from obscēnus
- obsceneobscēnus
- obscenityobscenitas