LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

satelles

satelles m or f (genitive satellitis)
Classical[saˈtɛl.lɛs]Ecclesiastical[saˈtɛl.les]

Meaning

  1. femininemasculineattendant, follower, guard, bodyguard
    tibi apparuit inter Seianianos satellites mortem unam patere servitutis fugam.It was clear to you that, surrounded as he was by the followers of Sejanus, death was the only way to escape from slavery.c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Consolatio ad Marciam 1.2
  2. collectivefemininemasculinefollowers, train
    […]: ne posset adire,8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 14.353–354
  3. femininemasculineaccomplice, abettor
    Meministīne mē ante diem XII Kalendās Novembris dīcere in senātū fore in armīs certō diē, quī diēs futūrus esset ante diem VI Kalendās Novembris, C. Mānlium, audāciae satellitem atque administrum tuae?Do you recall that I said in the Senate, before the 21st of October, that Gaius Manlius, the accomplice and agent of your audacity, would be under arms on a certain day — which day would be the 27th of October? (The dates, literally: the twelfth day before the Kalends of November = October 21st; the sixth day before … = October 27th.)63 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam orationes 1.7

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

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Satelles · Stipator

Satelles (from στέλλω) denotes an attendant, as a hired servant; stipator (from στῖφος) as a guard. Cic. Rull. ii. 13. Ex equestri loco ducentos in singulos annos stipatores corporis constituit, eosdem ministros et satellites potestatis. (vi. 318.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesatellessatellitēs
genitivesatellitissatellitum
dativesatellitīsatellitibus
accusativesatellitemsatellitēs
ablativesatellitesatellitibus
vocativesatellessatellitēs

sătellĕs, ĭtis, comm.,
I. an attendant upon a distinguished person, esp. a prince, a lifeguard; in plur., attendants, escort, train, retinue (class.; syn.: stipator, apparitor, accensus).
I. Lit.: regii satellites, Liv. 2, 12; 34, 36 fin.; cf. Quint. 7, 2, 54: administri et satellites Sex. Naevii, Cic. Quint. 25, 80 (cf. infra, II.): habet sectatores vel potius satellites, qui, etc., Tac. A. 16, 22: contumeliosum foret, si equites Romani satellites Numidae traderentur, Sall. J. 65, 2: Sullae, id. H. 1, 41, 2 Dietsch; cf. Liv. 34, 41: sequimini satellites, Plaut. Mil. 1, 78: aurum per medios ire satellites... amat, Hor. C. 3, 16, 9: ne posset adire, Cursus equi fecit circumfususque satelles, Ov. M. 14, 354: Caesaris, Tac. A. 2, 45: Sejani, id. ib. 6, 3 et saep.: Hannibalis, followers, satellites, Liv. 23, 12; 25, 28.—
B. Transf. (mostly poet.), of attendants analog. to the preceding: Jovis pinnata satelles, i. e. the eagle, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 47, 106; id. Tusc. 2, 10, 24: Noctis, i. e. the evening-star, id. poët. ap. Non. 65, 10: Orci, i. e. Charon, Hor. C. 2, 18, 34: Neptuni, storms, etc., Plaut. Trin. 4, 1, 14.—Of the attendants of the queen-bee, Plin. 11, 17, 17, § 53.—Of Orion, as Diana's attendant, Ov. F. 5, 538. —
II. Trop., an assistant, attendant: hominem natura non solum celeritate mentis ornavit, sed etiam sensus tamquam satellites attribuit ac nuncios, Cic. Leg. 1, 9, 26: virtutis verae custos rigidusque satelles, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 17.—In Cicero more freq. in a bad sense, an assistant in crime, an accomplice, partner, abettor, etc.: stipatores corporis constituit, eosdem ministros et satellites potestatis, Cic. Agr. 2, 13, 32: satellites scelerum, ministros cupiditatum, id. Prov. Cons. 3, 5: C. Mallium, audaciae satellitem atque administrum tuae, id. Cat. 1, 3, 7: voluptatum satellites et ministras, id. Fin. 2, 12, 37; cf. (opp. dominatrix), id. Inv. 1, 2, 2.

Origins

Unexplained. Four possibilities are: * From Etruscan 𐌆𐌀𐌕𐌋𐌀𐌈 (zatlaθ) "follower, guard", maybe connected with Camunian zaθalas and zaθaú "stability". * If cognate with Ancient Greek ἕταρος (hétaros, “comrade”), Lithuanian svẽčias (“guest”), Russian посетить (posetitʹ, “to visit”), then from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“self”) with a root extension. * From Old Latin *satro- (“enough, full”) + *leyt- (“to let go”), perhaps comparable to Proto-Germanic *fulgāną (English follow), which might be composed of roots with similar meaning. * From Old Latin *satellus, diminutive of *satḗr (“the possessor”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to receive, obtain”) (whence also Ancient Greek κτάομαι (ktáomai) and Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 (x-š-ç-p-a-v-a /⁠xšaçapāvā⁠/)).

Descendants
  • Catalansatèl·lit
  • Italiansatellite
  • Frenchsatellitefrom Middle French satellite
  • Englishsatellitefrom Middle French satellite
  • Portuguesesatélite
  • Spanishsatélite
  • Aragonesesatelite
  • Asturiansatélite
  • Basquesatelite
  • Galiciansatélite

Quick answers

What does satelles mean in Latin?
satelles, a noun, means “attendant, follower, guard, bodyguard; followers, train; accomplice, abettor”.
What is the genitive of satelles?
The genitive singular is satellitis. satelles is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce satelles?
In classical Latin, [saˈtɛl.lɛs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [saˈtɛl.les].