LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininevariously declined, fourth declension, second declension

quercus

quercus f (genitive quercūs or quercī)
Classical[ˈkʷɛr.kʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷɛr.kus]

Meaning

  1. an oak, oak-tree, especially an Italian oak (Quercus frainetto)
    Ac velut annōsō validam cum rōbore quercum Alpīnī Boreae nunc hinc nunc flātibus illinc ēruere inter sē certant; [...].And just as a mighty oak with strength in age, when Alpine Northwinds — by [their] blows, now [to] this side, now that — compete among themselves to uproot [it]; ….29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.441–443
  2. poeticsomething made from oak wood (e.g., an oaken ship, an oaken javelin, etc.)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

arbor magna et dūra, Iovī sacra
quercus -ūs (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 16
arbor rōboris validissima
quercus -ūs (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 12

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativequercusquercūs
quercī
genitivequercūs
quercī		quercuum
quercōrum
dativequercuī
quercō		quercubus
quercibus, quercīs
accusativequercumquercūs
quercōs
ablativequercū
quercō		quercubus
quercibus, quercīs
vocativequercus
querce		quercūs
quercī

quercus, ūs (
I. gen. querci, Pall. 4, 7, 8; gen. plur. quercorum, Cic. Fragm. ap. Prisc. p. 717 P.; dat. and abl. plur. do not occur), f. perh. from root kar (kal-k), to be hard; cf.: cornu calx, calculus.
I. An oak, oaktree, esp. the Italian or esculent oak, sacred to Jupiter (cf. robur): quercus dicitur, quod id genus arboris grave sit ac durum, tum etiam in ingentem evadat amplitudinem: querqueram enim gravem et magnam putant dici, Paul. ex Fest. p. 259 Müll.: percellunt magnas quercus, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 2 (Ann. v. 194 Vahl.): magna Jovis quercus, Verg. G. 3, 332: glandiferae, Lucr. 5, 939; Cic. Leg. 1, 1, 2: aëriae, Verg. A. 3, 680: quercus et ilex Multā fruge pecus juvat, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 9: auritae, id. C. 1, 12, 12: aridae, id. ib. 4, 13, 10: durior annosā quercu, Ov. M. 13, 799: quercorum rami, Cic. Fragm. ap. Prisc. p. 717 P.—
II. Poet., transf.
A. ?*!f things made of oak-wood. Of a ship, of the ship Argo, Val. Fl. 5, 65.— Of a javelin, Val. Fl. 6, 243.— Of a drinkingvessel, Sil. 7, 190.— Capitolina, a garland of oak-leaves, Juv. 6, 386; usually bestowed upon one who had saved the life of a citizen in battle, Ov. F. 4, 953; id. M. 1, 563; Luc. 1, 357: civilis, Verg. A. 6, 772. —
B. For acorns (very rare): veteris fastidia quercūs, Juv. 14, 184.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *kʷerkus, assimilated from Proto-Indo-European *pérkus ~ *pr̥kʷéu- (“oak”). Compare Old Norse fýri (as in fýriskógr (“pine-wood”). See also English fir.

Descendants
  • Italianquercia
  • Portuguesequerco
  • Spanishalcornoque
  • TranslingualQuercus
  • Galiciancerquiño
  • Galiciancerqueiro
  • Siciliancerza

Quick answers

What does quercus mean in Latin?
quercus, a noun, means “an oak, oak-tree, especially an Italian oak (Quercus frainetto); something made from oak wood (e.g., an oaken ship, an oaken javelin, etc.)”.
What is the genitive of quercus?
The genitive singular is quercūs. quercus is feminine, variously declined, fourth declension, second declension.
How do you pronounce quercus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkʷɛr.kʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkʷɛr.kus].