noun · masculinethird declension
sextāns
sextāns m (genitive sextantis)
Classical[ˈsɛk.stãːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛk.stans]
Meaning
- historicalsextans, a coin worth 1/6 as
- historicalsextans, a unit of mass equal to 1/6 libra (Roman pound) or 2 uncia (Roman ounce), about 55 g
- historicalsextans, a unit of area equal to 1/6 juger or 1/3 actus, equivalent to a rectangle with sides of 120×40 pedes (Roman feet), about 420 m²
- historicalsextans, a unit of volume equal to 1/6 sextarius or 1/36 congius, about 90 mL
- historicalsextans, a unit of length equal to 1/6 pes (Roman foot) or 2 uncia (Roman inch), about 5 cm
- synonym of unus, one, 1/6 of the perfect number six
- New Latinsextant, a nautical instrument with a sector of 1/6 circle (60°)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | sextāns | sextantēs |
| genitive | sextantis | sextantium |
| dative | sextantī | sextantibus |
| accusative | sextantem | sextantēs sextantīs |
| ablative | sextante | sextantibus |
| vocative | sextāns | sextantēs |
sextans, antis, m. sex.
I. A sixth part of an as (v. as):
sextans ab eo quod sexta pars assis, ut quadrans quod quarta et triens quod tertia pars, Varr. L. L. 5, § 171 Müll.: heredes in sextante, Cic. Fam. 13, 29, 4: ex sextante heres institutus, Dig. 44, 2, 30; Cod. Th. 9, 42, 8 pr.—B. In partic.
1. As a coin:
extulit eum plebs sextantibus collatis in capita, Liv. 2, 33 fin.; Plin. 33, 10, 48, § 138; hence, servus sextantis, i. e. of very trifling value, worthless, Laber. ap. Gell. 16, 9, 4.—2. In weighing, Plin. 26, 11, 74, § 121; Ov. Med. Fac. 65; Mart. 8, 71, 9; (with pondo) Scrib. Larg. 4; 42 al.—
3. As a measure of land, the sixth part of a juger, Varr. R. R. 1, 10, 2; Col. 5, 1, 10.—
4. As a liquid measure, the sixth part of a sextarius, or two cyathi, Col. 12, 23, 1; Mart. 5, 64, 1; Suet. Aug. 77.—
5. As a lineal measure, Plin. 13, 15, 29, § 94.—
II. Among mathematicians, the sixth part of the number six, as of the numerus perfectus (v. as), i. e. unity, one, Vitr. 3, 1, 6.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
sextāns antis, m
sex, the sixth, a sixth part : heres ex parte dimidiā est Capito; in sextante sunt ii, etc., one sixth goes to those , etc.— A small coin, one sixth of an as, two unciae : non esse sextantis, not to be worth a groat : extulit eum plebs sextantibus conlatis in capita, L.— A small weight, one sixth of a pound : Sextantem trahere, O.
Origins
By surface analysis, sex (“six”) + -āns. According to the linguist Albio Cassio, it is more probably a calque of Ancient Greek ἑξᾶς (hexâs), though the Greek forms are more often explained as borrowings from the Latin.
Descendants
- Russianсекстан
- Russianсекстант