adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)
pulcher
pulcher (feminine pulchra, neuter pulchrum, comparative pulchrior, superlative pulcherrimus, adverb pulchrē)
Classical[ˈpʊɫ.kʰɛr]Ecclesiastical[ˈpul.ker]
№ 569 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivebeautiful, fair, pretty
Heic est sepulcrum hau pulcrum pulcrai feminae
Here is the ugly tomb of a beautiful woman (literally, “Here is the tomb of no beauty for a beautiful woman”)c. 135-120 BCE, CIL 6.15346 - adjectivefigurativelynoble, honorable, excellent
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quī oculīs placet; grātus vidērī.pulcher -chra -chrum — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs
beautiful
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Formosus · Pulcher · Venustus
1. Formosus means beauty, as far as it excites pleasure and delight by fineness of form; pulchrum, as far as it excites admiration, is imposing, and satisfies the taste by its perfectness; venustum, as far as by its charms it excites desire, and captivates. Formositas works on the natural sense of beauty; pulchritudo, on the cultivated taste; venustas, on the more refined sensuality. Suet. Ner. 51. Fuit vultu pulchro magis quam venusto; that is, it had perfect and regular beauty rather than pleasing features, and possessed a cold, heartless sort of beauty, by which no one felt attracted. Comp. Catull. lxxxvi. Hor. A. P. 99. Cic. Off. i. 36. 2. Venustas, loveliness, is of higher import than gratia, grace; the former transports, the latter only attracts. (iii. 29.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | in -er pulcher, pulchellus | pulchra pulchella, pulcra | pulchrum pulchellum, pulcrum |
| genitive | pulchrī pulchellī, pulcrī | pulchrae pulchellae, pulcrae | pulchrī pulchellī, pulcrī |
| dative | pulchrō pulchellō, pulcrō | pulchrae pulchellae, pulcrae | pulchrō pulchellō, pulcrō |
| accusative | pulchrum pulchellum, pulcrum | pulchram pulchellam, pulcram | pulchrum pulchellum, pulcrum |
| ablative | pulchrō pulchellō, pulcrō | pulchrā pulchellā, pulcrā | pulchrō pulchellō, pulcrō |
| vocative | pulcher pulchelle | pulchra pulchella, pulcra | pulchrum pulchellum, pulcrum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | pulchrī pulchellī, pulcrī | pulchrae pulchellae, pulcrae | pulchra pulchella, pulcra |
| genitive | pulchrōrum pulchellōrum, pulcrōrum | pulchrārum pulchellārum, pulcrārum | pulchrōrum pulchellōrum, pulcrōrum |
| dative | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs |
| accusative | pulchrōs pulchellōs, pulcrōs | pulchrās pulchellās, pulcrās | pulchra pulchella, pulcra |
| ablative | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs | pulchrīs pulchellīs, pulcrīs |
| vocative | pulchrī pulchellī, pulcrī | pulchrae pulchellae, pulcrae | pulchra pulchella, pulcra |
pulcher, chra, chrum, and less correctly pulcer, cra, crum, adj. for pol-cer, root pol-ire, akin with parēre, apparēre, prop. bright, shining; hence,
I. beautiful, beauteous, fair, handsome, in shape and appearance (syn.: speciosus, venustus, formosus).
I. Lit.: homo, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 40 Vahl.):
o puerum pulchrum, Cic. Off. 1, 40, 144; Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 74: pulcher ac decens, Suet. Dom. 18: virgo pulchra! Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 54: pulchra juvenis, Phaedr. 2, 2, 5: quo pulchrior alter Non fuit Aeneadūm, Verg. A. 9, 179: formā pulcherrima, id. ib. 1, 496; cf.: Venus quem pulcherrima dium Fari donavit, Enn. ap. Prob. ap. Verg. E. 6, 31 (Ann. v. 18 Vahl.): O matre pulchrā filia pulchrior, Hor. C. 1, 16, 1; as an epithet of Apollo, Verg. A. 3, 119 Serv.: satus Hercule pulchro Pulcher Aventinus, id. ib. 7, 656: pulcher bos appellatur ad eximiam pinguedinem perductus, Fest. p. 238 Müll.: pulchro corpore creti, Lucr. 5, 1116: o faciem pulchram! Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 5: fuit vultu pulchro magis quam venusto, Suet. Ner. 51: color, Lucr. 4, 1133 and 1094: mulier pulchra nimis, Vulg. Gen. 12, 14: tunicae, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 33: testudo, Verg. G. 2, 463: recessus, Ov. M. 14, 261: horti, id. P. 1, 8, 37: fluvius, Verg. G. 2, 137; Val. Fl. 5, 486: quid potest esse aspectu pulchrius? Cic. Sen. 15, 53: urbs pulcherrima, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 52, § 117; Liv. 7, 30, 16: pulcherrimorum agrorum judex, Cic. Agr. 2, 16, 43: acetum acerrimum et pulcherrimum, Cato, R. R. 104: panis longe pulcherrimus, Hor. S. 1, 5, 89: pulcherrima opera, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 69.—Subst.: pulchrum, i, n., beauty: quid habet pulchri constructus acervus, Hor. S. 1, 1, 44.—II. Trop., in a spiritual or moral sense, beautiful, fine, excellent, noble, honorable, glorious, illustrious, etc.:
praetor interea, ne pulchrum se ac beatum putaret, that he might not think too highly of himself, Cic. Mur. 12, 26: res publica paulatim immutata ex pulcherrimā pessima ac flagitiosissima facta est, Sall. C. 5, 9; Cic. Off. 1, 32, 118: pulcherrimum exemplum, Caes. B. G. 7, 77: maximum et pulcherrimum facinus, Sall. C. 20, 3: fasces, Lucr. 5, 1234: pulcherrima consilia, Verg. A. 5, 728: nascetur pulchrā Trojanus origine Caesar, id. ib. 1, 286: poëmata, Hor. S. 1, 10, 6: divitiae, id. ib. 2, 3, 95: dies, favorable, fortunate, id. C. 1, 36, 10: o Sol pulcher, o laudande, id. ib. 4, 2, 47; 4, 4, 39: pulcherrimus exitus, Flor. 2, 2, 14: viae ejus viae pulchrae, Vulg. Prov. 3, 17: pulchrum sub pectore vulnus, honorable, Sil. 5, 594: quae majori parti pulcherrima videntur, ea maxime exoptant, Cic. Off. 1, 32, 118.—Poet., with gen.: pulcherrimus irae, glorious on account of (just) wrath, Sil. 11, 365.—Pulchrum (est), with a subj. -clause, it is beautiful, grand, glorious, etc.: cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies, to whom it seemed a fine thing, Hor. Ep. 1, 2, 30: pulchrumque mori succurrit in armis, Verg. A. 2, 317: pulchrius hac fuerat, Troja, perire tibi, Prop. 2, 2, 44 (2, 3, 34): pulchrum putare, ducere, to think or consider beautiful: pati pulchrum Romanumque putant, Luc. 9, 391: turpe ducet cedere pari, pulchrum superasse majores, Quint. 1, 2, 22. —As a translation of the Gr. ὁ καλός (a complimentary formula), handsome, lovely, noble: propino hoc pulchro Critiae, Κριτίᾳ τῷ καλῷ, Cic. Tusc. 1, 40, 96.—Hence, adv.: pulchrē (-crē), beautifully, excellently, finely, nobly, very, etc.: subigere aliquid, Cato, R. R. 74: aedes probae pulchreque aedificatae, Plaut. Merc. 5, 2, 61: oppidum pulchre munitum, id. Pers. 4, 4, 6: vendere, i. e. at a high price, id. ib. 4, 4, 31; 38: conciliare, at a low price, id. Ep. 3, 4, 36: victitare, id. Most. 1, 1, 51: admonere, id. Mil. 2, 6, 56: pulchre dictum, Ter. Eun. 3, 1, 26: pulchre et oratorie dicere, Cic. Or. 68, 227: pulchre asseverat, bravely, cunningly, id. Clu. 26, 73: proxima hostia litatur saepe pulcherrime, very favorably, id. Div. 2, 15, 36: ferre fortunam secundam pulcherrime, Sulp. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 5, 6: intellegere, Cic. Fam. 11, 3, 3: Caesar ait se non posse galeam cognoscere, hominem pulchre posse, Sen. Ben. 5, 24, 2: peristi pulchre, you have done for yourself finely, utterly, Plaut. Mil. 2, 4, 50; so, occidi, id. Curc. 1, 3, 58.—Pulchre est mihi, I am well, it goes well with me, Cic. N. D. 1, 41, 114; Hor. S. 2, 8, 19; Cat. 23, 5.—Pulchre esse, to live well, enjoy one's self, be happy, Plaut. Merc. 3, 3, 21: neque ligna ego praehiberi vidi pulcrius, in greater abundance, id. Aul. 3, 1, 5: pulchre, as an exclamation of applause (like recte, probe, etc.), excellently! bravo! well done! Ter. Eun. 4, 7, 4; id. Heaut. 2, 3, 92; Hor. A. P. 428.Pulcher (-cer), chri, m., and Pul-chra (-cra), ae, f.,
I. a Roman surname of the Claudii (Clodii), Liv. 38, 35; Val. Max. 3, 5, 3; Tac. A. 4, 52.—Pulchri promontorium, a promontory in Northern Africa, north-east of Carthage, now Cap Bono, Liv. 29, 27, 12.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
pulcher (pulcer) chra, chrum, adj.
with comp. pulchrior, and sup. pulcherrimus, beautiful, beauteous, fair, handsome : homo, Enn. ap. C.: virgo, T.: iuvenis, Ph.: quo pulchrior alter Non fuit, V.: formā pulcherrima, V.: O matre pulchrā filia pulchrior, H.: o faciem pulchram! T.: tunicae, H.: horti, O.: Ganges, V.: quid potest esse aspectu pulchrius?: pulcherrimorum agrorum iudex.—As subst n.: quid habet pulchri acervus, beauty, H. —Fig., beautiful, fine, excellent, noble, honorable, glorious, illustrious: res p. paulatim inmutata ex pulcherrumā pessima facta est, S.: pulcherrimum exemplum, Cs.: pulcerrumum facinus, S.: poëmata, H.: dies, fortunate, H.—Fortunate, prosperous: ne pulchrum se ac beatum putaret: dies, H. —In the phrase, pulchrum est, it is beautiful, is grand, is glorious, is a fine thing: Cui pulchrum fuit in medios dormire dies, it seemed a fine thing, H.—In compliment, worthy, excellent: propino hoc pulchro Critiae, the perfect gentleman.
Origins
Uncertain. The earlier form polcer is traditionally derived from Proto-Italic *porkros, from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥ḱ-ró-s or Proto-Indo-European *perḱ-ro-, from the root *perḱ- (“motley, variegated”), with dissimilation of the first *-r- into *-l-. De Vaan has questioned this change, thinking that the second *r should have disappeared instead, and thus leaves this term without an etymology. Connection with poliō (“to polish, smooth”) or polleō (“to be strong”) is to be excluded. The aspiration is often considered secondary when the word would have been made to derive from Ancient Greek πολύχροος (polúkhroos, “multicolor”) by folk etymology, while an Etruscan borrowing is usually discarded.
Descendants
- Catalanpulcre
- Italianpulcro
- Portuguesepulcro
- Spanishpulcro
- Middle Frenchpulcre
- Tashelhitfulki