LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

obsidium1

obsidium n (genitive obsidiī or obsidī)

Meaning

  1. neuterA siege, blockade

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeobsidiumobsidia
genitiveobsidiī
obsidī		obsidiōrum
dativeobsidiōobsidiīs
accusativeobsidiumobsidia
ablativeobsidiōobsidiīs
vocativeobsidiumobsidia

obsĭdĭum, ĭi, n. obsideo,
I. a siege, investment, blockade (mostly ante-class. and post-Aug. for obsidio; not in Cic. or Cæs.; but cf. obsidio).
I. Lit.: obsidium dictum ab obsidendo, quominus hostis egredi posset inde, Varr. L. L. 5, § 90 Müll.: obsidium, tam quam praesidium, subsidium, recte dicitur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 193 Müll.: saevo obsidio premere aliquem, Enn. ap. Non. 216, 29 (Ann. v. 28 Vahl.): obsidium facere Ilio, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 9, 24: obsidio circumdare, Tac. A. 13, 41: obsidium urgere, id. H. 4, 28; Flor. 4, 4, 4; Gell. 15, 31, 1; Amm. 20, 7, 3: ad liberandum Mogontiaci obsidium, Tac. H. 4, 37.—
II. Trop.
A. A waylaying, an ambush: obsidia hominum aut insidiosorum animalium, Col. 8, 2, 7.—
B. Attention, foresight: curatoris, Col. 9, 9, 1; cf. obsidio.—
C. Danger: tuo tergo obsidium adesse, Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 64.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin ob- Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *sedéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *sedēō Latin sedeō Latin obsideō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin obsidium From obsideō (“besiege, beset”) + -ium.

noun · neutersecond declension
obsidium2
obsidium n (genitive obsidiī)

Meaning

  1. neuterhostageship

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
dativeobsidiō—
ablativeobsidiō—

obsĭdĭum, ĭi, n. obses,
I. the condition of a hostage, hostageship (Tacitean): Meherdates obsidio nobis datus, Tac. A. 11, 10.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁óp(i) Proto-Italic *op Latin ob Latin ob- Proto-Indo-European *sed- Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁ti Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éh₁yeti Proto-Indo-European *sedéh₁yeti Proto-Italic *sedēō Latin sedeō Proto-Indo-European *-s Latin -s Latin obses Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin obsidium From obses (“hostage”) + -ium.

Quick answers

What does obsidium mean in Latin?
obsidium, a noun, means “A siege, blockade”.
What is the genitive of obsidium?
The genitive singular is obsidiī. obsidium is neuter, second declension.