LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

saxum

saxum n (genitive saxī)
Classical[ˈsak.sũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈsak.sum]
№ 306 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterstone, rock (a large, rough fragment of rock)
    Aaron Stone, season 1 episode 16: Respōnsum est sub saxō. The answer is under the rock.
  2. broadlyneuterwall of stone

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

lapis magnus.
saxum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Rūs et Agrīcultūra

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Saxum · Rupes · Cautes · Petra · Scopuli · Lapis · Calculus · Scrupulus

1. Saxum, rupes, and cautes, are greater; lapis, calx, and scrupus, smaller masses of stone. Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 22. Silex viridis ubi invenitur, lapis, non saxum est. 2. Saxa (from ψεκάς, ψήχω) are greater masses of stone, in whatever form, like πέτραι; rupes and petræ (πέτραι, from πεσεῖν) are steep and high, like rocks, and therefore difficult to climb; cautes and scopuli are rough and pointed, like crags, and therefore threaten danger; the cautes are smaller, and also not visible in the water, and therefore deceitful; the scopuli (from κόψαι) jutting upwards, threaten and announce danger, like σκόπελοι. 3. Lapis (ἄλιψ) is the most general expression, and denotes the stone only as a material substance, without regard to its form, like λίθος; calculus, is a smooth, generally round pebble; scrupulus, a rough, generally angular pebble; but for this meaning of scrupulus, the dimin. of scrupus, we have only the authority of grammarians; in authors it has only the figurative meaning of scruple. (v. 191.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesaxumsaxa
genitivesaxīsaxōrum
dativesaxōsaxīs
accusativesaxumsaxa
ablativesaxōsaxīs
vocativesaxumsaxa

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

saxa praerupta
steep rocks.
viam sternere (silice, saxo)
to pave a road.
deicere aliquem de saxo Tarpeio
to throw some one down the Tarpeian rock.
saxa voci respondent or resonant
the rocks re-echo.

saxum (in inscrr. also SAKSVM; from collat. form saxus;
I. a vocative SAXE, Inscr. Orell. 2982), i, n. root sak-; Sanscr. ska; cf. secare, any large, rough stone; a detached fragment of rock; a rock (in gen.; whereas rupes is a steep rock, crag, cliff).
I. In gen., Lucr. 4, 266 sq.; cf. id. 1, 882: non est e saxo sculptus, Cic. Ac. 2, 31, 100: pars ludicre saxa Jactant, inter se licitantur, Enn. ap. Non. 134, 13 (Ann. v. 76 Vahl.): (Sisyphum) adverso nixantem trudere monte Saxum, etc., Lucr. 3, 1001: miser impendens magnum timet aëre saxum Tantalus, id. 3, 980: saxo cere comminuit brum, Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 1, 412 (Ann. v. 586 Vahl.); cf.: si glebis aut saxis aut fustibus aliquem de fundo praecipitem egeris, Cic. Caecin.21,60: magni ponderis saxa, in muro collocare, Caes. B. G. 2, 29; cf. id. ib. 7, 22 fin.; 7, 23; 7, 46: (Thyestes) summis saxis fixus asperis, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 44, 107 (Trag. v. 413 Vahl.); cf.: aspicite religatum asperis Vinctumque saxis (Prometheum), Cic. poët. Tusc. 2, 10, 23: speluncas saxis pendentibu' structas, Lucr. 6, 195; cf., of the cave of Cacus: jam primum saxis suspensam hanc aspice rupem, Verg. A. 8, 190: tot congesta manu praeruptis oppida saxis, id. G. 2, 156: inter saxa rupesque, Liv. 21, 40: saxa spargens tabo, Enn. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 44, 107 (Trag. v. 414 Vahl.): vesco sale saxa peresa, Lucr. 1, 326: nec turbida ponti Aequora fligebant naves ad saxa, id. 5, 1001: si ad saxum quo capessit, Plaut. Rud. 1, 2, 89 et saep.: lapis non saxum est, Plin. 36, 22, 49, § 169.—In apposition: in saxis silicibus uberiores aquae sunt, in limestone rocks, Vitr. 8, 1.—
2. Prov.
a. Saxum volvere, i. e. to strive or endeavor in vain (alluding to the stone of Sisyphus): satis diu hoc jam saxum volvo, Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 55.—
b. Inter sacrum saxumque stare; v. sacrum, A. 2. b.—
II. In partic.
A. For Saxum Tarpejum (cf. Fest. p. 343 Müll. and v. Tarpejus, II.), the Tarpeian Rock: horribilis de saxo jactus, Lucr. 3, 1016; Plaut. Trin. 2, 1, 31; Cic. Att. 14, 16, 2; Hor. S. 1, 6, 39; Tac. A. 2, 32; 4, 29; Dig. 48, 19, 25; v. Tarpeius.—
B. Saxum sacrum, the sacred rock on the Aventine, at which Remus consulted the auspices, Cic. Dom. 53, 136; called saxum alone, Ov. F. 5, 150.—
C. A superior kind of Cimolian chalk (creta Cimolia), Plin. 35, 17, 57, § 196.—
D. Saxa Rubra; v. ruber, II. B.—
III. Transf.
1. Plur.: saxa, stony ground, rocky places: mitis in apricis coquitur vindemia saxis, Verg. G. 2, 522: Ligurum, Mart. 3, 82, 22.—
2. A stone wall: Romulus saxo lucum circumdedit alto, Ov. F. 3, 431.—
3. The strong foundation of a building: Capitolium quadrato saxo substructum, Liv. 6, 4, 12.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *saksom, further derivation uncertain. The American Heritage Dictionary tentiatively connects it to Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”) (compare Proto-Germanic *sahsą (“knife”)), with a semantic shift from "broken-off piece" to "rock". De Vaan rejects this due to the presence of the vowel a in the Latin word, reasoning that to obtain that vowel in that position, a laryngeal must be posited (that is, the root would have to be **sh₂k-) and that a semantic connection between "rock" and "knife" (as seen in Germanic) is difficult.

Descendants
  • Italiansasso
  • Portugueseseixo
  • Spanishsaxo
  • Emiliansâs
  • Galicianseixo
  • Istriotsasso
  • Liguriansàscio
  • Old Leonesesexo

In English words that came into English from saxum

  • saxifragesaxifraga
  • saxicoloussaxum
  • saxicavoussaxum
  • saxatilesaxatilis
  • saxifragoussaxifragus

Quick answers

What does saxum mean in Latin?
saxum, a noun, means “stone, rock (a large, rough fragment of rock); wall of stone”.
What is the genitive of saxum?
The genitive singular is saxī. saxum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce saxum?
In classical Latin, [ˈsak.sũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsak.sum].
Which English words come from saxum?
English words that go back to Latin saxum include saxicolous, saxicavous, saxifrage, saxatile and saxifragous.