LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

puteus

puteus m (genitive puteī)
Classical[ˈpʊ.te.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈpuː.te.us]

Meaning

  1. masculinewell
  2. masculinecistern

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

fovea unde aqua haurītur
puteus -ī (m) — in Epistulae, ch. 8

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeputeusputeī
genitiveputeīputeōrum
dativeputeōputeīs
accusativeputeumputeōs
ablativeputeōputeīs
vocativeputeeputeī

pŭtĕus, i, m. (
I. neutr. collat. form of the plur. pŭtĕa, ōrum, Varr. ap. Non. 217, 4) [root pu-, to cleanse; whence also purus, putus, purgo], a well: puteum fodere, Plaut. Most. 2, 1, 32: ex puteis jugibus aquam calidam trahi, Cic. N. D. 2, 9, 25; id. Div. 1, 50, 112: virgines se in puteos abjecisse, id. Prov. Cons. 3, 6; Plin. 9, 25, 41, § 80; 37, 9, 43, § 127; Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 25; 5, 6, 25: putei perennes, Hor. Ep. 1, 15, 15: puteum vitare patentem, id. ib. 2, 2, 135 et saep. —Of a cistern, Auct. B. Alex. 5 fin.—Prov.: in puteum conicere, to throw away, Petr. 42.—
II. Transf., a pit, Verg. G. 2, 231; for storing grain in, Varr. R. R. 1, 57, 2; in mines, a pit, shaft, Plin. 33, 4, 21, § 68; 33, 6, 31, § 95; an air-shaft, air-hole, Vitr. 8, 6; a dungeon for slaves, Plaut. Aul. 2, 5, 21; 2, 7, 3; Col. 1, 6.

Origins

Uncertain. *De Vaan suggests it could be a loanword. *Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *pēu-, *pyu-, *pū- (“to cut, strike, hit”). Comare paveō, paviō, pudeō, tripudium.

Italo-Romance
  • Italianpozzo
  • Sardinianpussu
  • Sardinianputzu
  • Sicilianpuzzu
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanpou
  • Occitanpotz
  • Frenchpuitsfrom Old French puis
  • Franc-Comtoispouchefrom Old French puis
  • Normanpyitfrom Old French puis
  • Walloonpoussefrom Old French puis
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesepoçofrom Old Galician-Portuguese poço
  • Spanishpozofrom Old Spanish poço
  • Asturianpozu
  • Mirandesepoço
  • Galicianpozofrom Old Galician-Portuguese poço
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianpuț
  • Aromanianputs
North Italian
  • Friulianpoç
  • Romanshpuoz
  • Venetanposo
  • Venetanpoç
Borrowings
  • Albanianpus
  • Basqueputzu
  • Welshpydew
  • Proto-West Germanic*puti

Quick answers

What does puteus mean in Latin?
puteus, a noun, means “well; cistern”.
What is the genitive of puteus?
The genitive singular is puteī. puteus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce puteus?
In classical Latin, [ˈpʊ.te.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈpuː.te.us].