LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

pūmex

pūmex m or f (genitive pūmicis)
Classical[ˈpuː.mɛks]Ecclesiastical[ˈpuː.meks]

Meaning

  1. a pumice stone
  2. pumice
  3. any porous rock

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

lapis levissimus ignis
pūmex -icis (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 15

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepūmexpūmicēs
genitivepūmicispūmicum
dativepūmicīpūmicibus
accusativepūmicempūmicēs
ablativepūmicepūmicibus
vocativepūmexpūmicēs

pūmex, ĭcis, m. (
I. fem., Cat. 1, 2).
I. Lit., a pumice-stone, Plin. 36, 21, 42, § 154; used for smoothing books, Cat. 1, 2; 22, 6; Hor. Ep. 1, 20, 2; Ov. Tr. 1, 1, 11; Mart. 8, 72, 2; hence poet., of verses carefully smoothed, i. e. polished, Prop. 3 (4), 1, 8; used by the effeminate for smoothing the skin, Ov. A. A. 1, 506; Mart. 14, 205; Juv. 8, 16.—Prov.: aquam a pumice postulare, to try to draw blood from a stone, i. e. to demand money from one who has none, Plaut. Pers. 1, 1, 42; cf. as an image of dryness: pumex non aeque est aridus atque hic est senex, id. Aul. 2, 4, 8.—
II. Poet., transf., soft stone, porous rock of any kind, Ov. M. 3, 159; 8, 561; id. F. 2, 315; Verg. G. 4, 44; id. A. 5, 214.—
B. In gen., a rock: quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare, Hor. C. 1, 11, 5.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *poimeks, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)poH(y)- (“foam”). Related to spūma. Compare rūmex for the unusual suffix.

Descendants
  • Frenchponce
  • Englishpouncefrom French ponce
  • Italianpomice
  • Occitanpomessa
  • Portuguesepomes
  • Romanianponce
  • Spanishpómez
  • Englishpumice
  • Galicianpómes
  • Sicilianpùmici

In English words that came into English from pūmex

  • pumicepūmex
  • pouncepūmex
  • pumicatepumicatus

Quick answers

What does pūmex mean in Latin?
pūmex, a noun, means “a pumice stone; pumice; any porous rock”.
What is the genitive of pūmex?
The genitive singular is pūmicis. pūmex is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce pūmex?
In classical Latin, [ˈpuː.mɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpuː.meks].
Which English words come from pūmex?
English words that go back to Latin pūmex include pumice, pounce and pumicate.