LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

perduellis

perduellis m (genitive perduellis)
Classical[pɛr.duˈɛl.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[per.duˈɛl.lis]

Meaning

  1. masculinepublic enemy
    thus, in the name of the immortal gods, the Senate declared that, as the vanquished former public enemies kings Perseus and Gentius as well as Macedonia and the Illyricum are under the rule of the [Senate and] People of Rome, […]Fourth quarter of the 1st century BCE, Livy, The History of Rome. With An English Translation, Alfred C. Schlesinger (ed.), book 45, 16.7, Harvard University Press (publ. 1951). item, quod ad honorem deum immortalium pertineret, decrevit senatus ut quoniam perduelles superati Perseus et Gentius reges cum Macedonia atque Illyrico in potestate populi Romani essent, […]
  2. masculineenemy (in time of war)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeperduellisperduellēs
genitiveperduellisperduellium
perduellum
dativeperduellīperduellibus
accusativeperduellemperduellēs
perduellīs
ablativeperduelleperduellibus
vocativeperduellisperduellēs

per-dŭellis, is (
I. gen. plur. perduellūm, Att. ap. Non. 22, 15, or Trag. Rel. p. 238 Rib.; abl. perdvellibus, Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 49 Müll., or p. 146 Vahl.), m. per-duellum, i. e. bellum, a public enemy, an enemy actually waging war against a country (mostly anteclass. for the class. hostis): quos nos hostes appellamus, eos veteres perduelles appellabant, per eam adjectionem indicantes, cum quibus bellum esset, Dig. 50, 16, 234: equidem illud etiam animadverto, quod qui proprio nomine perduellis esset, is hostis vocaretur, lenitate verbi tristitiam rei mitigante, Cic. Off. 1, 12, 37; Varr. L. L. 5, § 3 Müll.: apud Ennium perduelles dicuntur hostes, Varr. L. L. 7, § 49 ib.: perduelles superati, S. C. ap. Liv. 45, 16, 7: pirata non est ex perduellium numero, sed communis hostis omnium, Cic. Off. 3, 29, 107; Liv. 25, 12; 36, 2; Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 94; id. Cist. 1, 3, 53; Amm. 26, 7 sq.; 29, 5.—
II. Transf., a private enemy, an enemy, = inimicus (Plautin.), Plaut. Ps. 2, 1, 8; cf. id. ib. 15.— Perduellis seems never to mean traitor to one's country (cf. perduellio); in this sense parricida is used instead.

Origins

From per- + duellum.

In English words that came into English from perduellis

  • perduellionperduellio

Quick answers

What does perduellis mean in Latin?
perduellis, a noun, means “public enemy; enemy (in time of war)”.
What is the genitive of perduellis?
The genitive singular is perduellis. perduellis is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce perduellis?
In classical Latin, [pɛr.duˈɛl.lɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [per.duˈɛl.lis].