LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

scēptrum1

scēptrum n (genitive scēptrī)
Classical[ˈskeːp.trũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈʃɛp.trum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. sceptre (royal staff, symbol of authority)
    [...] celsā sedet Aeolus arce[King] Aeolus sits in his high citadel, holding his scepter, and [he is] soothing the passions [of the winds] and tempering their angry spirits. (Figuratively, by holding his scepter the king is wielding his authority. Note the poetic plural [sceptra] used in place of the singular [sceptrum]. See Aeolus (son of Hippotes).)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.56–57

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quod rēx manū tenet: signum rēgnī.
scēptrum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Aula Rēgia
baculum rēgis, signum imperiī
sceptrum -ī (n) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2, 6

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativescēptrumscēptra
genitivescēptrīscēptrōrum
dativescēptrōscēptrīs
accusativescēptrumscēptra
ablativescēptrōscēptrīs
vocativescēptrumscēptra

scēptrum, i (less correctly scaep-trum), n., = σκῆπτρον,
I. a royal staff, a sceptre.
I. Lit.: (rex Ptolemaeus) sedens cum purpurā et sceptro et illis insignibus regiis, Cic. Sest. 26, 57; Quint. 9, 3, 57; 11, 3, 158; Suet. Aug. 94: Augusti, id. Galb. 1; Verg. A. 7, 247: dextrā sceptrum gerebat, id. ib. 12, 206; Ov. M. 7, 103; 1, 178; 2, 847; 5, 422. Also borne by a king's daughter, Verg. A. 1, 653 Heyne: exitiale, Stat. Th. 1, 34; of a triumphant general, Liv. 5, 41; Juv. 10, 43.—Poet., in the plur., by way of amplification, of a single sceptre, Cic. poët. Div. 1, 12, 21; cf.: celsā sedet Aeolus arce Sceptra tenens, Verg. A. 1, 57; and of Juno, Ov. M. 3, 265; 1, 596; 11, 560; Verg. A. 7, 173; 7, 252 al.—
B. Transf. *
1. A teacher's rod (humorously): ferulae tristes, sceptra paedagogorum, Mart. 10, 62, 10.— *
2. A name of the plant aspalathus, Plin. 12, 24, 52, § 110.—
3. = membrum virile, Auct. Priap. 25.—
II. Trop., as a symbol of authority, also used by the poets, in the plur., for kingdom, rule, dominion, authority: en impero Argis, sceptra mihi liquit Pelops, Poët. ap. Quint. 9, 4, 140: tu mihi quodcumque hoc regni, tu sceptra Jovemque Concilias, Verg. A. 1, 78: sic nos in sceptra reponis? id. ib. 1, 253; 7, 422; 9, 9: pulsus solio sceptrisque paternis, id. ib. 10, 852: sceptra Asiae tenere, Ov. H. 16, 175: potiri perenni sceptro, id. M. 15, 585; id. F. 4, 198; id. M. 6, 677: Heliconiadum comites, quorum unus Homerus Sceptra potitus, etc., Lucr. 3, 1038.

Origins

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σκῆπτρον (skêptron), derived from σκήπτω (skḗptō, “to press one thing against another”) + -τρον (-tron, instrument noun suffix).

Descendants
  • Englishscepter
  • Frenchsceptre
  • GermanZepter
  • Italianscettro
  • Romaniansceptru
  • Portuguesecetro
  • Portugueseceptro
  • Spanishcetro
  • Galiciancetro

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesSceptrumSceptrum In Homer the king carries a sceptre as a badge of his power (cf. Il. 2.86, σκηπτοῦχοι βασιλῆες; ib. 206, βασιλεὺς ᾦ ἔδωκε Ζεὺς σκῆπτρον τ’ ἠδ…
proper noun · neutersecond declension
Scēptrum2
Scēptrum n sg (genitive Scēptrī)
Classical[ˈskeːp.trũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈʃɛp.trum]

Meaning

  1. The star 53 Eridani in the constellation Eridanus.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeScēptrum—
genitiveScēptrī—
dativeScēptrō—
accusativeScēptrum—
ablativeScēptrō—
vocativeScēptrum—

Origins

From Sceptrum Brandenburgicum (“scepter of Brandenburg”).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesSceptrumSceptrum In Homer the king carries a sceptre as a badge of his power (cf. Il. 2.86, σκηπτοῦχοι βασιλῆες; ib. 206, βασιλεὺς ᾦ ἔδωκε Ζεὺς σκῆπτρον τ’ ἠδ…

Quick answers

What does scēptrum mean in Latin?
scēptrum, a noun, means “sceptre (royal staff, symbol of authority)”.
What is the genitive of scēptrum?
The genitive singular is scēptrī. scēptrum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce scēptrum?
In classical Latin, [ˈskeːp.trũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈʃɛp.trum].