LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

racēmus

racēmus m (genitive racēmī)
Classical[raˈkeː.mʊs]Ecclesiastical[raˈt͡ʃɛː.mus]

Meaning

  1. cluster or bunch of grapes, berries or similar fruits
    vel psithia passos de vite racemos[…] or dried clusters of grapes from Psithian vine[s]c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.269

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeracēmusracēmī
racīmī
genitiveracēmī
racīmī		racēmōrum
racīmōrum
dativeracēmō
racīmō		racēmīs
racīmīs
accusativeracēmum
racīmum		racēmōs
racīmōs
ablativeracēmō
racīmō		racēmīs
racīmīs
vocativeracēme
racīme		racēmī
racīmī

răcēmus, i, m. ῥάξ, ῥαγός.
I. Lit., the stalk of a cluster of grapes and similar plants: alia (poma) racemis dependent, ut uvae, palmae, Plin. 15, 28, 34, § 115; cf. id. 16, 26, 48, § 112; 14, 3, 4, § 43: sunt et mora cruenta, et lentis uva racemis, Verg. Copa, 21.—
II. Transf.
A. A bunch of berries, cluster of grapes: fert uva racemos, Verg. G. 2, 60; Ov. M. 3, 484; id. Tr. 4, 6, 9; Prop. 4 (5), 2, 13; Hor. C. 2, 5, 11 al.: lecti de vite racemi, Ov. A. A. 3, 703; Verg. G. 2, 102; Sil. 7, 208 al. —
B. Wine (poet.): donec eras mixtus nullis, Acheloë, racemis, Ov. F. 5, 343.

Origins

Unknown (Watkins, 1969); probably from an ancient, extinct Mediterranean substrate language. Cognate with Ancient Greek ῥάξ (rháx, “grape”) (root: ῥαγ-, Pre-Greek), Albanian rrush (“resin”), and Persian رز (raz, “vine”), which were presumably borrowed from the same source.

Descendants
  • Englishraceme
  • Frenchracème
  • Romanianracemfrom French racème
  • Italianracemo
  • Portugueseracemo
  • Spanishracimo
  • Late Latinracīmus

In English words that came into English from racēmus

  • raisinracīmus
  • racemeracēmus
  • racemicracēmus
  • racemoseracēmōsus
  • racemationracematio
  • racemiferousracemifer

Quick answers

What does racēmus mean in Latin?
racēmus, a noun, means “cluster or bunch of grapes, berries or similar fruits”.
What is the genitive of racēmus?
The genitive singular is racēmī. racēmus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce racēmus?
In classical Latin, [raˈkeː.mʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [raˈt͡ʃɛː.mus].
Which English words come from racēmus?
English words that go back to Latin racēmus include raisin, raceme, racemic, racemose, racemiferous and racemation.