noun · femininefirst declension
rota
rota f (genitive rotae)
Classical[ˈrɔ.ta]Ecclesiastical[ˈrɔː.ta]
Meaning
- femininewheel
aureus axis erat, temo aureus, aurea summae
the axle was of gold, the pole of gold, all of gold the rim of the wheels, with a set of silver spokes.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 2.107–108 - femininea car, a chariot
Si rota defuerit, tu pede carpe viam.
If you don't have a car, you'd better make your way on foot. - femininefigurativelythe disc of the sun
Hic neque tum solis rota cerni lumine largo altivolans poterat […]
Nor can the sun's disc larger be by much, nor its own blaze much less […]c. 99 BCE – 55 BCE, Lucretius, De rerum natura 5
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
orbis quī volviturrota -ae (f) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 15
orbis currūs quī volviturrota -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 5
circulus currūs volvēnsrota -ae (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 5
wheel
rota -ae (f) — in De Bello Gallico III
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | rota | rotae |
| genitive | rotae | rotārum |
| dative | rotae | rotīs |
| accusative | rotam | rotās |
| ablative | rotā | rotīs |
| vocative | rota | rotae |
rŏta, ae, f. kindred with Sanscr. ratha, chariot, and Germ. Rad (cf.rotundus), wheel,
I. a wheel.
I. Lit.:
pro rotā me uti licet, Plaut. Capt. 2, 3, 9; cf.: vorsutior es quam rota figularis, id. Ep. 3, 2, 35: orbes rotarum, Lucr. 6, 551; Plin. 8, 16, 19, § 52: axes rotarum, id. 16, 43, 84, § 229: radiata, Varr. R. R. 3, 5, 15: aurea curvatura summae rotae, Ov M. 2, 108: aquaria, Cato, R. R. 11, 3: ne currente rotā funis eat retro, while the wheel (in a hoisting machine) hurries forward, Hor. C. 3, 10, 10 et saep.—2. In partic.
a. A potter's wheel (cf. supra, figularis):
amphora coepit Institui: currente rotā cur urceus exit? Hor. A. P. 22; so, Cumana, Tib. 2, 3, 48: Aristarchus invenit rotam figuli, cujus circuitu vasa formantur, Sen. Ep. 90, 31.—b. A wheel for torture (τροχός, among the Greeks):
in rotam beatam vitam non escendere, Cic. Tusc. 5, 9, 24: cervicem circumactu rotae frangere, Sen. Ep. 70, 23; App. M. 3, p. 133; 10, p. 243; Sen. Herc. Oet. 1011.—Ixion's wheel, Tib. 1, 3, 74; Verg. G. 4, 484; id. A. 6, 616; Sen. Herc. Fur. 750 et saep.—c. A roller:
aliquid subjectis rotis traicere, Front. 1, 5, 7: propellere, Tac. H. 4, 23; Vitr. 10, 13, 2.—B. Poet., transf.
1. (Pars pro toto.) A car, chariot: si rota defuerit, tu pede carpe viam, Ov.A. A. 2,230; cf. (opp. pedibus) id. M. 1, 448; so Prop. 1, 2, 20; 2, 25 (3, 20), 26;
4 (5), 10, 42: subdiderat rotas, Verg. A. 12, 675; Ov. M. 2, 139; 312; 3, 150. —Of the span of horses: Cynthia fraternis afflata rotis, Sil. 4, 483.—2. Of things in the shape of a wheel or disk.
a. The disk of the sun:
solis rota, Lucr. 5, 432; 564; cf.: flammea Phoebi, Sen. Herc. Oet. 1022; and simply rota, Enn. ap. Isid. Orig. 18, 36 fin.; Val. Fl. 3, 559.—b. A kind of sea-fish, Plin. 9, 4, 3, § 8; 32, 11, 53, § 144.—
II. Trop., a wheel:
fortunae rotam pertimescere, i. e. fickleness, inconstancy, Cic. Pis. 10, 22; cf.: versatur celeri Fors levis orbe rotae, Tib. 1, 5, 70; Prop. 2, 8, 8 (10); Tac. Or. 23; Amm. 26, 8, 13.—Poet.: imparibus vecta Thalia rotis, i. e. in elegiac metre, Ov. A. A. 1, 264; so, disparibus (elegorum) rotis, id. P. 3, 4, 86: jactor, crucior, agitor, stimulor, vorsor in amoris rotā miser, on the rack of love (cf. I. A. 2. b. supra), Plaut. Cist. 2, 1, 4.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
rota ae, f
2 AR-, a wheel : aurea summae Curvatura rotae, O.: Ne currente retro funis eat rotā, while the wheel hurries forward , H.— A potter's wheel : currente rotā cur urceus exit? H.— A wheel for torture : in rotam beatam vitam non escendere: Ixionii rota orbis, V.— A car, chariot : Si rota defuerit, tu pede carpe viam, O.: Subdiderat rotas, V.: croceis invecta rotis Aurora, O.— Fig., a wheel : fortunae, i. e. fickleness : imparibus vecta Thalia rotis, i. e. in elegiac metre , O.: disparibus (elegorum) rotis, O.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *rotā, from Proto-Indo-European *Hróth₂-eh₂, from *Hreth₂- (“to run, roll”). The exact derivational pathway from this root is disputed: * De Vaan and Nussbaum derive Latin rota from a simple nominalization of the feminine singular of the agentive adjective *Hroth₂ós. * Stifter, also starting off from an agentive adnominal *Hroth₂ós, supposes that Latin rota instead derives from the neuter collective/plural. * Höfler and Yates, by contrast, take Latin rota as an *(o)-éh₂ formation *(H)rotéh₂, and posit Sanskrit रथ (ratha) as from *(H)rot-h₂-ós, a possessive derivative of the feminine word.
Insular Romance
- Sardinianroda
- Sardinianarroda
- Sardinianrota
- Sardinianorroda
Southern Gallo-Romance
- Catalanroda
- Occitanròda
- Occitanarròda
- Basquearrodafrom Occitan ròda
Balkano-Romance
- Romanianroată
- Romanianrotilă
- Aromanianroatã
- Aromanianaroatã
- Albanianrrotë
Ibero-Romance
- Portugueseroda
- Spanishrueda
- Aragoneserueda
- Aragoneseroda
- Asturianrueda
- Galicianroda
- Mirandeseruoda
- Moroccan Arabicرويضةfrom Spanish rueda
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italianruota
- Corsicanrota
- Istriotrùda
- Neapolitanrota
- Malteserotafrom Sicilian rota
- Venetanroda
- Venetanrua
Northern Gallo-Romance
- Frenchrouefrom Old French rode
- Franco-Provençalroua
- Franc-Comtoisrûefrom Old French rode
- Walloonrowefrom Old French rode
Borrowings
- Englishrota
- Basqueerrota
Rhæto-Romance
- Friulianruede
- Romanshroda
- Romanshrouda
Gallo-Italic
- Emilianrôda
- Emilianròda
- Emilianröda
- Ligurianrêua
- Lombardreuda
- Lombardròda
- Piedmonteseroa
- Piedmontesereua