LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
nounthird declension

pater familiās

pater familiās m (genitive patris familiās, feminine māter familiās)
Classical[ˈpa.tɛr faˈmɪ.li.aːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpaː.ter faˈmiː.li.as]
paterfamilias

Meaning

  1. head of household

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepater familiāspatrēs familiās
patrēs familiārum
genitivepatris familiāspatrum familiās
patrum familiārum
dativepatrī familiāspatribus familiās
patribus familiārum
accusativepatrem familiāspatrēs familiās
patrēs familiārum
ablativepatre familiāspatribus familiās
patribus familiārum
vocativepater familiāspatrēs familiās
patrēs familiārum

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

diligens paterfamilias
a careful master of the house.

Origins

From pater (“father”) + familiās, an archaic genitive of familia (“family", "household”), literally meaning "father of the family" or "father of the household".

Descendants
  • Frenchpère de famille
  • Italianpadrefamiglia
  • Portuguesepai de família
  • Spanishpadre de familia
  • Sicilianpatrifamigghia
  • Sicilianpatri di famigghia

Quick answers

What does pater familiās mean in Latin?
pater familiās, a noun, means “head of household”.
What is the genitive of pater familiās?
The genitive singular is patris familiās. pater familiās is third declension.
How do you pronounce pater familiās?
In classical Latin, [ˈpa.tɛr faˈmɪ.li.aːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpaː.ter faˈmiː.li.as].