LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

pugnus

pugnus m (genitive pugnī)
Classical[ˈpʊŋ.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpuɲ.ɲus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. masculinea fist; a hand with all fingers curled up
  2. masculinea fistful, handful

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

manus clausa et pressa; pugnīs pugnāmus.
pugnus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepugnuspugnī
genitivepugnīpugnōrum
dativepugnōpugnīs
accusativepugnumpugnōs
ablativepugnōpugnīs
vocativepugnepugnī

pugnus, i, m. root pug-; v. pugil, pugno.
I. A fist: pugnus a punctione, id est percussu dicitur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 219 Müll.: manum plane comprimere pugnumque facere, Cic. Ac. 2, 47, 145: certare pugnis, calcibus, unguibus, id. Tusc. 5, 27, 77; cf. Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 23, § 56: pugnis contundere aliquem, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 46: pugnum impingere alicui in os, id. Rud. 3, 4, 5: pugnis onerare, id. Am. 1, 1, 72: obtundere, id. ib. 2, 1, 59: pugnos in ventrem ingerere, Ter. Phorm. 5, 7, 95: pugnum ducere alicui, to give one a blow with the fist, Dig. 47, 10, 4: percusserit proximum suum pugno, Vulg. Exod. 21, 18.—Poet., of boxing: neque pugno Neque segni pede victus, Hor. C. 3, 12, 8; 1, 12, 26: Castor gaudet equis, ovo prognatus eodem Pugnis, id. S. 2, 1, 27. —
II. Transf., as a measure, a fistful, handful, Cato, R. R. 82; Marc. Emp. 8 med.: pugnus aeris, Sen. Ira, 3, 33, 1.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *pugnos, from Proto-Indo-European *puǵnos, *puḱnos, from *pewǵ- (“prick, punch”). Near cognates include Ancient Greek πυγμή (pugmḗ, “fist”). Related to pungō (“to sting”).

Elsewhere
  • Catalanpuny
  • Italianpugno
  • Frenchpoingfrom Old French poing
  • Portuguesepunhofrom Old Galician-Portuguese punno
  • Sardinianpunzu
  • Sardinianprunzu
  • Sardinianpungiu
  • Sardinianpuniu
  • Asturianpuñu
  • Corsicanpugnu
Balkan-Romance
  • Romanianpumn
  • Romanianpubn
  • Romanianpugn
  • Aromanianpulmu
Old Occitan
  • Occitanponh
  • Occitanpunh
Old Spanish
  • Spanishpuño

In English words that came into English from pugnus

  • poniardpugnus
  • repugnantrepugnans
  • pugnaciouspugnāx
  • impugnimpugnō
  • oppugnantoppugnans
  • pugilpugillus
  • repugnrepugno
  • oppugnoppugno
  • expugnexpugnō

Quick answers

What does pugnus mean in Latin?
pugnus, a noun, means “a fist; a hand with all fingers curled up; a fistful, handful”.
What is the genitive of pugnus?
The genitive singular is pugnī. pugnus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce pugnus?
In classical Latin, [ˈpʊŋ.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpuɲ.ɲus].
Which English words come from pugnus?
English words that go back to Latin pugnus include poniard, pugil, repugnant, pugnacious, impugn and oppugnant.