LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

pontus1

pontus m (genitive pontī)
Classical[ˈpɔn.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔn.tus]
№ 630 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinethe sea, the deep
    Pontus Euxinusthe Black Sea
    Intereā magnō miscērī murmure pontum, ēmissamque hiemem sēnsit Neptūnus, et īmīs stāgna refūsa vadīs, graviter commōtus; [...]. Meanwhile, that with a mighty roar the sea was being intermixed, and that a storm had been sent forth – Neptune felt [it] – and that stillwaters from the deepest sea-bottoms had been thrown upwards – [the god was now] seriously concerned.(Neptune (mythology) had given no assent to this disturbance of his kingdom.)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.124–126
  2. masculinea wave (of the sea)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

mare; verbum poētārum.
pontus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Mare et Nāvēs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Mare · Æquor · Pontus · Pelagus

1. Mare (from μύρω) denotes the sea, as a mass of water, in opp. to terra and aër, like ἅλς, θάλασσα; æquor, pelagus, and pontus, with reference to its dimensions; æquor and pelagus, with reference to its horizontal dimension, the surface of the sea, like πέλαγος, whence πελαγίζειν, to float on the sea; pontus (from πεσεῖν, πίτνειν,) with reference to its perpendicular dimension, the depth of the sea, like πόντος, whence ποντίζειν, to sink into the sea. Colum. viii. 17. Ut in solo piscinæ posita libella septem pedibus sublimius esset maris æquor. Ovid, Met. ii. 872. Mediique per æquora ponti fert prædam. 2. Æquor (from æquus) denotes the surface of the sea in a merely physical sense; whereas pelagus (from πλάξ) with the accessory notion of its great extent and immensity. (iv. 72.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepontuspontī
genitivepontīpontōrum
dativepontōpontīs
accusativepontumpontōs
ablativepontōpontīs
vocativepontepontī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

flumen ponte iungere
to build a bridge over a river.

pontus, i, m., = πόντος.
I. Lit., the sea (poet. for mare): mulserat huc navem pontus, Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 870 P. (Ann. v. 257 Vahl.): placidus, Lucr. 2, 559: pontus Libyae, Verg. A. 1, 556: caelum undique et undique pontus, id. ib. 3, 193 al.: aequora ponti, Lucr. 1, 8; 2, 772; Verg. G. 1, 469; cf.: freta ponti, id. ib. 1, 356.—
II. Poet., transf. *
A. The deep: maris, Verg. A. 10, 377 (a poetic pleonasm, like the Homer. πόντος ἁλὸς πολιῆς, Il. 21, 59).—*
B. A wave of the sea, sea-wave: ingens a vertice pontus In puppim ferit, Verg. A. 1, 114.

Origins

From Ancient Greek πόντος (póntos).

Descendants
  • Spanishponto
proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Pontus2
Pontus m sg (genitive Pontī)
Classical[ˈpɔn.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpɔn.tus]

Meaning

  1. masculinesingularPontus (an ancient kingdom and cultural region covering the eastern half of the southern coast of the Black Sea, in Anatolia in modern Turkey; traditionally Greek-speaking)
  2. historicalmasculinesingularPontus (a former province of the Roman Empire covering the western half of the Pontus region unified with Bithynia; in full, Bithynia et Pontus)
  3. masculinesingularthe Black Sea
  4. masculinesingularthe general region around the Black Sea

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativePontus—
genitivePontī—
dativePontō—
accusativePontum—
ablativePontō—
vocativePonte—

Pontus, i, m., = Πόντος.
A. Lit., the Black Sea, called in full Pontus Euxinus, Mel. 1, 1, 5; 1, 3, 1; Plin. 4, 12, 24, § 75; Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 58, § 129; id. Tusc. 1, 20, 45; 1, 39, 94; Val. Fl. 8, 180 al.—
B. Transf., the region about the Black Sea: Medea ex eodem Ponto profugisse, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 9, 22; Ov. Tr. 5, 10, 1.—
2. In partic., Pontus, a district in Asia Minor, between Bithynia and Armenia, the kingdom of Mithridates, afterwards a Roman province, Verg. G. 1, 58; Cic. Agr. 1, 2, 6; 2, 19, 5; id. Imp. Pomp. 3, 7; Vell. 2, 40, 1; Flor. 3, 6, 8 al.—Hence, Pontĭcus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Pontus, Pontic: mare, Liv. 40, 21; Mel. 2, 1, 5; Flor. 3, 5, 18: terra, Ov. Tr. 1, 2, 94: populi, Mel. 1, 2, 6: pinus, Hor. C. 1, 14, 11: absinthium, Col. 12, 35: nuces, a kind of hazel-nuts, Plin. 15, 22, 24, § 88: mures, ermines, id. 8, 37, 55, § 132; 10, 73, 93, § 200: serpens, the dragon that watched the golden fleece, Juv. 14, 114: radix, rhubarb, Cels. 5, 23 fin.; also called Rha, Amm. 22, 8, 28: Ponticus genere, Vulg. Act. 18, 2.— As subst.
(a). Pontĭci, ōrum, m., the inhabitants of the province of Pontus, Flor. 3, 5, 12; 23.—
(b). Pontĭcum, i, n., = 2. Pontus, the Black Sea, Flor. 3, 6, 10.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*póntoh₁s
  3. Proto-Hellenic*póntos
  4. Ancient Greek πόντος(póntos)
  5. LatinPontus

Ancient Greek Πόντος (Póntos)bor. Latin Pontus Borrowed from Ancient Greek Πόντος (Póntos). Doublet of pōns.

Descendants
  • EnglishPontus

In English words that came into English from Pontus

  • PontusPontus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

GeographyPontusPontus (Πόντος), a large country in the northeast of Asia Minor, which derived its name from its being on the coast of the Pontus Euxinus, extending f…Biography & mythologyPontusPontus (Πόντος), a personification of the sea, is described in the ancient cosmogony as a son of Gaea, and as the father of Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, …

Quick answers

What does pontus mean in Latin?
pontus, a noun, means “the sea, the deep; a wave (of the sea)”.
What is the genitive of pontus?
The genitive singular is pontī. pontus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce pontus?
In classical Latin, [ˈpɔn.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpɔn.tus].