LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

prōlēs

prōlēs f (genitive prōlis)
Classical[ˈproː.ɫeːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈprɔː.les]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. offspring, children, progeny, descendants, a line of descendants, family, race
    “Omnīs ut tēcum meritīs prō tālibus annōs exigat, et pulchrā faciat tē prōle parentem.” “[Aeolus,] as a reward for the services [now] required, [Deiopea will spend] all [her] years with you, and make you a father with a fair line [of descendants].” (Juno tempts Aeolus to do her will by offering him marriage to Deiopea. Alliteration: “pulchra prole parentem.”)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.74–75
    Tollet humō validōs prōlēs Hyriēa lacertōs.The offspring of Hyrieus will raise from the ground his strong arms (See: Hyrieus; Orion (mythology). The heliacal rising of the upper part of Orion (constellation) occurs in June.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 6.719

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

līberī, nātī; prōlēs deōrum.
prōlēs -is f — in Mille Verba, ch. Vīta et Mors

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Stirps · Genus · Gens · Prosapia · Posteritas · Progenies · Proles · Suboles

1. Stirps, genus, and gens, denote the race usually in an ascending line, as abstract and collective terms, for majores; whereas prosapia, progenies, propago, proles, suboles, in a descending line, as abstract and collective terms for posteri. 2. Prosapia is an antiquated solemn expression, and only to be used of ancient noble families, Cic. Univ. 11. Quintil. i. 6, 40; posteritas, the usual prosaic, progenies, a select, elevated expression, Cic. Rep. ii. 22; proles and suboles, poetical expressions, Cic. Or. iii. 38; proles denotes children, as fruits destined, as a younger race, to exist with their parents; suboles, as an after-growth, destined to supply the place of the generation that is dying off. 3. Gens (γενετή) is a political, genus (γένος), a natural race. Gens consists of families, whom the founder of states has united into a community or complex family; genus consists of species and individuals, that by their common properties belong to one and the same class of beings. (v. 307).

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeprōlēsprōlēs
genitiveprōlisprōlium
dativeprōlīprōlibus
accusativeprōlemprōlēs
prōlīs
ablativeprōleprōlibus
vocativeprōlēsprōlēs

prōles, is (
I. gen. plur. prolum, Mart. Cap. 3, § 301), f. pro and root al- of alo, to nourish, whence olesco in ad-olesco, etc.; cf.: suboles, indoles.
I. Lit., that which grows forth; esp. of human beings, offspring, progeny, child, descendant; and collect., descendants, race, progeny, posterity (mostly poet.; but cf.: nec fugerim dicere prolem, aut subolem aut effari, etc., Cic. de Or. 3, 38, 153; cf. Quint. 8, 3, 26, and v. in the foll. the passages from Cic.; syn. progenies). —Poet.: propagando procudere prolem, to bring forth, produce children, Lucr. 5, 856: prolem est enixa gemellam, Ov. M. 9, 452: laudantur simili prole puerperae, Hor. C. 4, 5, 23; id. C. S. 19: di Romulae genti date remque prolemque, id. ib. 47: et pulchrā faciat te prole parentem, Verg. A. 1, 75: felix prole parens, Val. Fl. 5, 384: tua postuma proles, Verg. A. 6, 763: ferrea proles, the iron race, Poët. ap. Cic. N. D. 2, 63, 159: aënea, Ov. M. 1, 125: argentea, id. ib. 1, 114: proles Ausonia, the Ausonian race, Verg. A. 4, 236: dic mihi, Teucrorum proles, Juv. 8, 56.—In prose: praeclara Brutorum atque Aemiliorum proles, Sall. H. 1, 41, 2 Dietsch; Cic. Rep. 2, 22, 40: proles illa futurorum hominum, race, id. ib. 6, 21, 23.—Of individuals (poet.): Ulixi, i. e. Telemachus, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 40: proles tertia Phorcus, Ov. M. 7, 477: Clymeneïa, i. e. Phaëton, id. ib. 2, 19: Apollinea, i. e. Æsculapius, id. ib. 15, 533: deūm certissima proles, Verg. A. 6, 322: egomet Neptunia proles, Val. Fl. 4, 213.—Of deities: Saturni altera proles, Verg. A. 12, 830: Bacchi rustica proles, i. e. Priapus, Tib. 1, 4, 7: Cyllenia proles, Verg. A. 4, 268: fulminis, i. e. Bacchus, Sen. Med. 24; cf. Verg. A. 6, 25: Jovis, Vulg. Act. 19, 35.—Of animals: hinc nova proles per herbas Ludit, Lucr. 1, 259: duellica equorum, id. 2, 661; Phaedr. 2, 4, 19; Verg. G. 3, 65: jam maris immensi prolem, genus omne natantum, id. ib. 3, 541; Col. 7, 6, 7. —Poet., of plants: et prolem tarde crescentis olivae, i. e. the fruit, Verg. G. 2, 3; cf.: naturae contenta manu Zephyrique favore Parturit (tellus), et tantā natorum prole superbit, Alan. Anti-Claud. 1, 79.—In plur.: privignasque rogat proles, Col. poët. 10, 163.—
II. Transf.
A. Youth, young men, Cic. Leg. 3, 3, 7: sternitur Arcadiae proles, Verg. A. 10, 429.—
B. The testicles (post-class.): polimina sunt ea, quae nos proles verecundius dicimus, Arn. 7, 230; 5, 172.

Origins

From pro- + *olēs (“growth”). Compare typologically Russian по́росль (póroslʹ), подро́сток (podróstok) akin to расти́ (rastí).

Descendants
  • Catalanprole
  • Italianprole
  • Portugueseprole
  • Spanishprole
  • Old Galician-Portugueseproe

Quick answers

What does prōlēs mean in Latin?
prōlēs, a noun, means “offspring, children, progeny, descendants, a line of descendants, family, race”.
What is the genitive of prōlēs?
The genitive singular is prōlis. prōlēs is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce prōlēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈproː.ɫeːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈprɔː.les].