LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension one-termination adjective

rapāx

rapāx (genitive rapācis, comparative rapācior, superlative rapācissimus, adverb rapāciter)
Classical[ˈra.paːks]Ecclesiastical[ˈraː.paks]

Meaning

  1. one terminationgrasping; greedy of plunder; rapacious

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativerapāxrapāxrapāx
genitiverapācisrapācisrapācis
dativerapācīrapācīrapācī
accusativerapācemrapācemrapāx
ablativerapācī
rapāce		rapācī
rapāce		rapācī
rapāce
vocativerapāxrapāxrapāx
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativerapācēsrapācēsrapācia
genitiverapāciumrapāciumrapācium
dativerapācibusrapācibusrapācibus
accusativerapācīs
rapācēs		rapācīs
rapācēs		rapācia
ablativerapācibusrapācibusrapācibus
vocativerapācēsrapācēsrapācia

răpax, ācis, adj. rapio,
I. grasping, greedy of plunder, rapacious.
I. Lit. (class.; syn. furax): vos rapaces, vos praedones, Plaut. Men. 5, 7, 26; id. Pers. 3, 3, 6: olim furunculus, nunc vero etiam rapax, Cic. Pis. 27, 66; so with fur, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 2, § 4: inopiā rapax, Suet. Dom. 3: procuratorum rapacissimum quemque, id. Vesp. 16; cf. Tac. H. 1, 20: Cinara, i. e. eager for presents, Hor. Ep. 1, 14, 33; so Tib. 1, 5, 59; 2, 4, 25: cervi, luporum praeda rapacium, Hor. C. 4, 4, 50; id. Epod. 16, 20; cf. Harpyiae, id. S. 2, 2, 40.— As subst.: răpax, ācis, comm., a beast of prey, Plin. 11, 45, 101, § 247.—
2. Of things, rapacious, ravenous (mostly poet.): falces rapaces, Lucr. 3, 650: ventus, Ov. A. A. 1, 388: ignis, id. M. 8, 837: mors, Tib. 1, 3, 65; cf. Orcus, Hor. C. 2, 18, 30: fortuna, id. ib. 1, 34, 14: dentes, fangs, tusks, Veg. 6, 1, 1.—With gen.: chryselectrum rapacissimum ignium, very ignitible, Plin. 37, 3, 12, § 51.—As a poet. epithet of floods: amnes, Lucr. 5, 341: fluvii, id. 1, 17: unda, Cic. poët. N. D. 3, 10, 24: undae, Ov. M. 8, 550: Danubius, id. ad Liv. 397.— Hence, transf., an appellation of the twenty-first legion and the soldiers composing it (qs. that sweeps every thing before it), Tac. H. 2, 43; 100; 3, 14; 18; 22.—
II. Trop. (rare), with gen., grasping, seizing eagerly or quickly, greedy, avaricious: nihil est rapacius quam natura, Cic. Lael. 14, 50: rapacia virtutis ingenia, Sen. Ep. 95, 36: nostri omnium utilitatum et virtutum rapacissimi, Plin. 25, 2, 2, § 4.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁reh₁p-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁r̥h₁pyéti
  3. Proto-Italic*rapjō
  4. Latinrapāx

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂ks Proto-Italic *-āks Latin -āx Latin rapāx From rapiō (“to grab”) + -āx (“inclined to”).

Descendants
  • Englishrapacious
  • Frenchrapace
  • Italianrapace
  • Portugueserapazfrom Old Galician-Portuguese rapaz
  • Romanianrapace
  • Spanishrapaz
  • Asturianrapaz
  • Mirandeserapaç
  • Galicianrapazfrom Old Galician-Portuguese rapaz
  • Sicilianrapaci

Quick answers

What does rapāx mean in Latin?
rapāx, a adjective, means “grasping; greedy of plunder; rapacious”.
How do you pronounce rapāx?
In classical Latin, [ˈra.paːks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈraː.paks].
Where does rapāx come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁reh₁p- → Proto-Indo-European *h₁r̥h₁pyéti → Proto-Italic *rapjō → Latin rapāx.