LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

septentriō

septentriō m (genitive septentriōnis)
Classical[sɛpˈtɛn.tri.oː]Ecclesiastical[sepˈtɛn.tri.o]

Meaning

  1. Ursa Major, Charles' Wain, the Big Dipper
    Hic ergo Septentrio maior ... Haec igitur ursa a Graecis Helice appellatur.This is then the Big Dipper... It is therefore called the Helice bear by the Greeks.ca. 64 BCE – 17 CE, Hyginus mythicus, Fabulae Calisto (177)
  2. Ursa Minor, the constellation including the most recent pole star
  3. The north
    ā septentriōne et occidente sicciōrēs quam ā merīdiē et orientefrom the North and West they [winds] are drier than from the South or East77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 2.126.8
  4. the north wind, the wind god Boreas

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pars mundī frīgida, ubi sōl nōn it
septentriō -ōnis (m) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 2

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeseptentriōseptentriōnēs
genitiveseptentriōnisseptentriōnum
dativeseptentriōnīseptentriōnibus
accusativeseptentriōnemseptentriōnēs
ablativeseptentriōneseptentriōnibus
vocativeseptentriōseptentriōnēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

est a septentrionibus collis
a hill lies to the north.

septentrĭo, ōnis, v. septentriones.

Origins

From septem (“seven”) + triō (“plow ox”; “Ursa Major”, “Ursa Minor”), from terō (“to rub”), the Latin name of both Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, from their appearance of milling around the north celestial pole.

Descendants
  • Catalanseptentrió
  • Italiansettentrione
  • Frenchseptentrionfrom Old French septemtrion
  • Englishseptentrionfrom Old French septemtrion
  • Portuguesesetentrião
  • Romanianseptentrion
  • Spanishseptentrión
  • Asturianseptentrión
  • Galiciansetentrión
  • Piedmontesestentrion

In English words that came into English from septentriō

  • septentrionalseptentriōnālis

Quick answers

What does septentriō mean in Latin?
septentriō, a noun, means “Ursa Major, Charles' Wain, the Big Dipper; Ursa Minor, the constellation including the most recent pole star; The north”.
What is the genitive of septentriō?
The genitive singular is septentriōnis. septentriō is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce septentriō?
In classical Latin, [sɛpˈtɛn.tri.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [sepˈtɛn.tri.o].