LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

prāvus

prāvus (feminine prāva, neuter prāvum, comparative prāvior, superlative prāvissimus, adverb prāvē)
Classical[ˈpraː.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpraː.vus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectivecrooked, deformed
  2. adjectivedepraved, perverse, wicked
  3. adjectivevicious, wrong, bad, improper

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

nōn rēctus, malus; cōnsilia prāva.
prāvus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Aula Rēgia

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Malitia · Malignitas · Malevolentia · Malus · Nequam · Pravus

1. Malitia denotes the baseness which shows itself in the love of lying and deceiving, from want of conscience; malignitas, the ill-will which grudges good to another, and wishes it only to itself, from pure selfishness; malevolentia, the ill-will which wishes evil to another rather than good, from personal aversion. Malitia is a way of thinking and acting deserving of punishment as endangering the security of society; malignitas is a despicable disposition, which implies the want of philanthropy; lastly, malevolentia, a detestable quality, as connected with deriving pleasure from the misfortunes of others. 2. Malus homo is a morally bad man, but nequam a good-for-nothing man, whose faultiness shows itself in aversion to useful labor, and a propensity to roguish tricks, in opp. to frugi. Plaut. Pseud, i. 5. 53. Cic. Font. 13. Or. ii. 61. Fin. ii. 8. Sen. Contr. iii. 21; pravus (πέραῖος) a man whose character has taken a vicious direction, in a physical, or intellectual, or moral point of view in opp. to rectus. Plaut. Bacch. iii. 3, 8. Cic. Fin. ii. 8. Acad. i. 10. Quintil. viii. 3, 48. Nec parricidam nequam dixeris hominem, nec meretrici forte deditum nefarium; quod alterum parum, alterum nimium est. Afric. ap. Gell. vii. 11. (i. 62.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeprāvusprāvaprāvum
genitiveprāvīprāvaeprāvī
dativeprāvōprāvaeprāvō
accusativeprāvumprāvamprāvum
ablativeprāvōprāvāprāvō
vocativeprāveprāvaprāvum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeprāvīprāvaeprāva
genitiveprāvōrumprāvārumprāvōrum
dativeprāvīsprāvīsprāvīs
accusativeprāvōsprāvāsprāva
ablativeprāvīsprāvīsprāvīs
vocativeprāvīprāvaeprāva

prāvus, a, um, adj. cf. Sanscr. prahva, crooked,
I. crooked, not straight, distorted, misshapen, deformed (opp. rectus; class.).
I. Lit.: prava, cubantia, prona, supina atque absona tecta, Lucr. 4, 517: si quae in membris prava, aut debilitata aut imminuta sunt, Cic. Fin. 5, 17, 46: talus, Hor. S. 1, 3, 48.—Absol.: in pravum, into crookedness (post-Aug.): elapsi in pravum artus, Tac. H. 4, 81: quae in pravum induruerunt, Quint. 1, 3, 12.—
II. Trop., perverse, irregular, improper, wrong, vicious, bad (syn.: improbus, malus, nequam).
A. Of living beings: pravus factus est, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 8: impulsores, Tac. H. 4, 68: pravissimus homo, Vell. 2, 80, 3: quae belua ruptis, Cum semel effugit, reddit se prava catenis? i. e. stulta, incauta, Hor. S. 2, 7, 71.—
(b). With gen. (poet.): pravus fidei, faithless, Sil. 3, 253: pravus togae, id. 8, 260: audendi pravus, id. 12, 464.—
B. Of things: nihil pravum, perversum, Cic. Rosc. Com. 10, 30: affectio, id. Tusc. 4, 13, 29: dociles imitandis Turpibus et pravis omnes sumus, Juv. 14, 40: a rectis in vitia, a vitiis in prava, a pravis in praecipitia pervenitur, Vell. 2, 10, 1: ad honesta, seu prava juxta levis, Tac. A. 11, 33: aemulatio, id. H. 4, 48: spes, id. A. 3, 56.—Comp.: quo pravius nihil esse possit, Cic. Tusc. 3, 33, 80.—Sup.: pravissima consuetudinis regula, Cic. Brut. 74, 258.—Absol.: in pravum, in perversity: frangas citius, quam corrigas, quae in pravum induruerunt, Quint. 1, 3, 12.—Hence, adv.: prāvē, crookedly; trop., improperly, wrongly, amiss, ill, badly (opp. recte; class.): hoc mihi videtur factum prave, Ter. Hec. 4, 4, 24: prave (facta), opp. recte facta, Cic. Ac. 1, 10, 37: ille porro male, prave, nequiter, turpiter cenabat, id. Fin. 2, 8, 25: prave sectus unguis, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 104: sive ego prave, Seu recte hoc volui, id. S. 2, 3, 87: prave facti versus, id. Ep. 2, 1, 266: pudens prave, id. A. P. 88: prave aliquid intellegere, Plin. 17, 9, 8, § 57: prave detorta verba, Tac. A. 6, 5: facundus, id. ib. 1, 53: prave et perperam appellare, Gell. 4, 9, 4.—Sup.: pravissume, Sall. Or. Lepidi adv. Sull.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *prāwos (whence also Faliscan 𐌐𐌓𐌀𐌖𐌉𐌏𐌔 (prauios, praenomen)). Further etymology unknown. Pokorny's derivation from Proto-Indo-European *preh₂-wo-s, from *preh₂- (“to bend”), whence also prātum, is nowadays rejected.

Borrowings
  • Italianpravo
  • Portuguesepravo
  • Spanishpravo
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianbravo
  • Italianbrado
  • Istriotbràvo
  • Istriotbrao
  • Neapolitanbravo
  • Neapolitanbravu
  • Sicilianbravu
  • Venetanbravo
  • Maltesebravu
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanbrau
  • Occitanbrau
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesebravofrom Old Galician-Portuguese bravo
  • Spanishbravo
  • Asturianbravu
  • Asturianbrau
  • Mirandesebrabo
  • Galicianbravofrom Old Galician-Portuguese bravo
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianbravu

Quick answers

What does prāvus mean in Latin?
prāvus, a adjective, means “crooked, deformed; depraved, perverse, wicked; vicious, wrong, bad, improper”.
How do you pronounce prāvus?
In classical Latin, [ˈpraː.wʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpraː.vus].