LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

rīvus

rīvus m (genitive rīvī)
Classical[ˈriː.wʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈriː.vus]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. a small stream (of water); brook, stream, rivulet
    Near-synonyms: flūmen, fluvius, amnis
  2. an artificial watercourse; channel, conduit, canal
  3. a gutter
  4. figuratively(of a liquid) a stream

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

parva aqua quae fluit; rīvus in flūmen it.
rīvus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Rūs et Agrīcultūra

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativerīvusrīvī
rīī
genitiverīvī
rīī		rīvōrum
rīōrum
dativerīvō
rīō		rīvīs
rīīs
accusativerīvum
rīum		rīvōs
rīōs
ablativerīvō
rīō		rīvīs
rīīs
vocativerīve
rīe		rīvī
rīī

rīvus, i, m. root ri- (li-), to flow, drop; Gr. λίμνη; cf. liris; Sanscr. rīna, flowing; cf. ripa,
I. a small stream of water, a brook (cf.: fluvius, amnis).
I. Lit.: rivus est locus per longitudinem depressus, quo aqua decurrat, cui nomen est ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥεῖν, Dig. 43, 21 (de rivis), 1: rivorum a fonte deductio, Cic. Top. 8, 33: prostrati in gramine molli Propter aquae rivum, by a waterbrook, Lucr. 2, 30; so, aquae, id. 5, 1392; Hor. C. 3, 16, 29; cf. Inscr. Orell. 51: omnia flumina atque omnes rivos, qui ad mare pertinebant, etc., Caes. B. C. 3, 49; 3, 37; cf. 3, 88 fin.; Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 7: pronus, id. ib. 1, 10, 21; id. C. 1, 29, 11: mobiles, id. ib. 1, 7, 14; cf. celeres, id. ib. 3, 11, 14: gelidi, id. ib. 3, 13, 7; id. Ep. 1, 18, 104: claudite jam rivos, Verg. E. 3, 111: tenuis fugiens per gramina rivus, id. G. 4, 19.—Prov.: e rivo flumina magna facere, to magnify an insignificant object; or, as we say, to make a mountain of a mole-hill, Ov. P. 2, 5, 22.—
B. Transf.
1. An artificial water-course, channel, canal, Dig. 7, 1, 61; 8, 3, 15; 8, 4, 11.—
b. A gutter, Vitr. 8, 6 (7), 1 al.—
2. Of other liquids, a stream, etc. (mostly poet.): manabat venis ferventibus argenti rivus et auri, Lucr. 5, 1256: lactis uberes, Hor. C. 2, 19, 11: sanguinis, Verg. A. 11, 668; Liv. 26, 23; Curt. 4, 9, 13: sudoris, Verg. A. 5, 200: lacrimarum, Ov. M. 9, 655: ignium, Plin. 2, 106, 110, § 236: rivis currentia vina, Verg. G. 1, 132.—
II. Trop., a stream (very rare; v. rivulus, II.): liquidus fortunae rivus, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 9: facundiae rivus, Lact. Opif. Dei, 20 fin.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃er-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₃reyH-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₃riHwós
  4. Proto-Italic*rīwos
  5. Archaic Latinrīvos
  6. Latinrīvus

Inherited from Archaic Latin rīvos, from Proto-Italic *rīwos (“stream”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃riH-wó-s (“whirling”), from the root *h₃reyH- (“to stream, churn”).

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanriu
  • Frenchru
  • Occitanriufrom Old Occitan riu
  • Franco-Provençalrio
  • Gasconarriufrom Old Occitan riu
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianribu
  • Sardinianarriu
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianrivo
  • Italianrio
  • Neapolitanrijo
  • Sicilianrivu
  • Sicilianrìu
  • Venetanrio
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseriofrom Old Galician-Portuguese rio
  • Spanishríofrom Old Spanish rio
  • Aragoneserío
  • Falaríufrom Old Galician-Portuguese rio
  • Galicianríofrom Old Galician-Portuguese rio
  • Asturianríu
  • Extremaduranriu
  • Leoneseríu
  • Mirandeseriu
  • Ladinoríofrom Old Spanish rio
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianrâu
  • Aromanianrãu
  • Aromanianarãu
Elsewhere
  • Vulgar Latin*rīvusculum

Quick answers

What does rīvus mean in Latin?
rīvus, a noun, means “a small stream (of water); brook, stream, rivulet; an artificial watercourse”.
What is the genitive of rīvus?
The genitive singular is rīvī. rīvus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce rīvus?
In classical Latin, [ˈriː.wʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈriː.vus].
Where does rīvus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- → Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- → Proto-Indo-European *h₃riHwós → Proto-Italic *rīwos → Archaic Latin rīvos → Latin rīvus.