LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

saepēs

saepēs f (genitive saepis)
Classical[ˈsae̯.peːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛː.pes]

Meaning

  1. hedge, fence
    hinc tibi, quae semper, vicino ab limite saepes Hyblaeis apibus florem depasta salictiHere, as of old, your neighbour's bordering hedge, that feasts with willow-flower the Hybla bees, […]c. 41 BCE – 39 BCE, Vergilius, Eclogae I.53–54

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

mūrus ex rāmīs circum agrum
saepēs -is (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 3, 15

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesaepēssaepēs
genitivesaepissaepium
dativesaepīsaepibus
accusativesaepemsaepēs
saepīs
ablativesaepesaepibus
vocativesaepēssaepēs

saepes (sēp-), is (nom. saeps, Cic. acc. to Aus. Idyll. in Grammaticom. 12, 11; Val. Fl. 6, 537;
I. but, saepes, Varr. R. R. 1, 14, 2; Verg. E. 1, 54; Col. 10, 374; Pall. 1, 34, 6; Claud. Nupt. Hon. et Mar. 56), f. root svak-, to make firm; Sanscr. sag, to cling; cf. σάττω; p for k, as in lupus.
I. Prop., a hedge, fence; sing., besides the passages above cited, Pac. ap. Non. 179, 15; Verg. G. 1, 270; Col. 11, 3, 3 sq.; Plin. 17, 14, 24, § 101; Ov. H. 20, 144: viva saepis, Varr. R. R. 1, 14, 1: saepes ex agresti ligno, id. ib. 1, 14, 2.—Plur., Poët. ap. Cic. N. D. 1, 42, 119; Caes. B. G. 2, 17; 2, 22; Verg. G. 2, 371; id. E. 8, 37; Ov. M. 1, 493.—
II. Meton., of any enclosure (poet.): scopulorum, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 7, 13: portarum, Ov. Tr. 4, 1, 81.

Origins

Uncertain. Pokorny compares Ancient Greek αἱμός (haimós, “thicket”) for Proto-Indo-European *seh₂i-p- (“to cram, fence”), but this is phonetically unlikely. Possibly from an extension of *sh₂ey- (“to bind, fetter”) in any case. Cognate with saepis, saepiō.

Italo-Romance
  • Italiansiepe
  • Italiansepale
  • Neapolitansepale
  • Siciliansipala
Gallo-Italic
  • Old Liguriansevale
Gallo-Romance
  • Gasconsübiu
  • Bourbonnais-Berrichonsevaufrom Old French sevil
Elsewhere
  • Late Latinsēpēs

Quick answers

What does saepēs mean in Latin?
saepēs, a noun, means “hedge, fence”.
What is the genitive of saepēs?
The genitive singular is saepis. saepēs is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce saepēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈsae̯.peːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɛː.pes].