LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

pulchritūdō

pulchritūdō f (genitive pulchritūdinis)
Classical[pʊɫ.kʰrɪˈtuː.doː]Ecclesiastical[pul.kriˈtuː.do]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. beauty, attractiveness
  2. excellence
  3. broadlya beautiful thing

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod pulchrum facit; fōrma pulchra.
pulchritūdō -inis f — in Mille Verba, Colōrēs

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

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepulchritūdōpulchritūdinēs
genitivepulchritūdinispulchritūdinum
dativepulchritūdinīpulchritūdinibus
accusativepulchritūdinempulchritūdinēs
ablativepulchritūdinepulchritūdinibus
vocativepulchritūdōpulchritūdinēs

pulchrĭtūdo (pulcr-), ĭnis, f. id.,
I. beauty.
I. Lit.: ut corporis est quaedam apta figura membrorum cum coloris quādam suavitate eaque dicitur pulchritudo, Cic. Tusc. 4, 13, 31: simulacri, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 33, § 72; cf. corporis, id. Off. 1, 28, 98: pulchritudinis duo genera sunt, quorum in altero venustas est, in altero dignitas, venustatem muliebrem dicere debemus, dignitatem virilem, id. ib. 1, 36, 130: pulchritudinis habere verissimum judicium, id. Inv. 2, 1, 3: equi, Gell. 3, 9, 8: urbis, Flor. 2, 6, 34: flammae, Suet. Ner. 38: operis, Plin. Ep. 10, 46, 3.—
II. Trop., beauty, excellence: oratoris, Cic. de Or. 3, 19, 71: verborum, Quint. 3, 7, 12: orationis, Petr. 2: honestum suā pulchritudine specieque laudabile, Cic. Fin. 2, 15, 38: splendor pulchritudoque virtutis? id. Off. 2, 10, 37; cf.: ut Isocratis memorat pulchritudo, i. e. the charming writer, Amm. 30, 8, 6.—
III. Transf., a beauty, i. e. a beautiful thing; in plur.: pulchritudines, i. e. beautiful jewels, Plin. 37, 9, 46, § 129.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-tu- Proto-Indo-European *-d- Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Italic *-tūdō Latin -tūdō Latin pulchritūdō From pulcher (“beautiful”) + -tūdō.

Descendants
  • Italianpulcritudine
  • Englishpulchritudefrom Middle English pulcritude
  • Portuguesepulcritude
  • Spanishpulcritud

In English words that came into English from pulchritūdō

  • pulchritudepulchritūdō
  • pulchritudinouspulchritūdō

Quick answers

What does pulchritūdō mean in Latin?
pulchritūdō, a noun, means “beauty, attractiveness; excellence; a beautiful thing”.
What is the genitive of pulchritūdō?
The genitive singular is pulchritūdinis. pulchritūdō is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce pulchritūdō?
In classical Latin, [pʊɫ.kʰrɪˈtuː.doː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [pul.kriˈtuː.do].