LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

sībilus

sībilus m (genitive sībilī)
Classical[ˈsiː.bɪ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsiː.bi.lus]

Meaning

  1. a hissing, whistling
  2. a contemptuous hissing

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesībilussībilī
genitivesībilīsībilōrum
dativesībilōsībilīs
accusativesībilumsībilōs
ablativesībilōsībilīs
vocativesībilesībilī

sībĭlus, i (collat. form, abl., sibilu, Sisenn. ap. Prisc. p. 715 P.—In plur. in the poets, prob. merely for the sake of the metre: sībĭla, ōrum; cf. 2. sibilus
I. init.; but in Cic. sibili), m. cf. σιφνός, σιβλός, hollow; Angl. S. and Engl. sipan, sip; O. H. Germ. sip, Germ. Sieb, a sieve; regarded by the ancients as imitation of a natural sound; cf. Quint. 8, 6, 31; Auct. Her. 4, 31, 42, a hissing, a whistling (class.)
I. In gen.
(a). Sing., of men: sibilo dare signum, Liv. 25, 8 fin.—Of cattle: (boves) sibilo allectari, Col. 2, 3, 2.—Of things: clamor tonitruum et rudentum sibilus, Poët. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 2, 1: (arbor) Loquente saepe sibilum edidit coma, Cat. 4, 12: venientis sibilus austri, Verg. E. 5, 82: sibilu significare alicui, Sisenn. ap. Prisc. p. 715 P.—
(b). Plur., of wind instruments: calamorum sibila, Lucr. 5, 1382; cf. pastoria, Ov. M. 13, 785; Stat. Th. 6, 338.—Of snakes, etc.: serpens horrenda sibila misit, Ov. M. 3, 38: sibila dant, id. ib. 4, 493: mittere, id. ib. 15, 670; 15, 684: sibila torsit draco, Val. Fl. 7, 726: angues stridula fuderunt vibratis sibila linguis, Luc. 9, 631: sibila effundere, id. 9, 724: vibrare, Sil. 3, 185; Corn. Sev. and Macer ap. Charis. p. 61 P.—Of a flying missile: stridentis sibila teli, Sil. 9, 247; Val. Fl. 6, 201. —
II. In partic., a contemptuous hissing, a hissing at or off (usually in plur.).
(a). Sing.: sibilum metuis? Cic. Pis. 27, 65.—
(b). Plur.: e scaenā sibilis explodi, Cic. Rosc. Com. 11, 30: aliquem sibilis consectari, id. Att. 2, 18, 1: crebris totius contionis sibilis vexatus, Val. Max. 7, 3, 6 ext.; Cic. Sest. 59, 126; cf.: gladiatorii sibili, id. Fragm. ap. Charis. p. 61 P.: quā dominus, quā advocati sibilis conscissi, id. Att. 2, 19, 3.
sībĭlus, a, um, adj. 1. sibilus,
I. hissing, whistling (poet.; occurring, on account of the metre, only in the form sibila; cf. 1. sibilus init.): colla (colubrae), Verg. G. 3, 421; id. A. 5, 277; cf. ora (anguium), id. ib. 2, 211: coma torvae frontis (Panis), Val. Fl. 3, 50.

Origins

An onomatopoeic formation, with similar words in various branches of Indo-European. Gamkrelidze and Ivanov derive the word from Proto-Indo-European *sweysd- (“to hiss”); if so, then related to Welsh chwythu (“to play instrument, blow”), Old Irish séitid (“to blow”), Polish gwizdać (“to whistle”), Old Church Slavonic свистати (svistati, “to whistle”), Russian свисте́ть (svistétʹ, “to whistle”), Sanskrit क्ष्वेडति (kṣveḍati, “to whisper, hum, buzz”), Hindi सीटी (sīṭī, “to whistle”), Proto-Germanic *sweglō (“flute”) and Proto-Germanic *sweglōną (“to play flute”) (compare Old High German swegala (“flute”) and Gothic 𐍃𐍅𐌹𐌲𐌻𐍉𐌽 (swiglōn, “to play flute”)).

Descendants
  • Italiansibilo
  • Portuguesesibilo

In English words that came into English from sībilus

  • sibilantsībilāns
  • persiflagesībilō
  • sibiloussībilus
  • sibilatesībilātus
  • sibilationsibilatio
  • assibilateassībilātus

Quick answers

What does sībilus mean in Latin?
sībilus, a noun, means “a hissing, whistling; a contemptuous hissing”.
What is the genitive of sībilus?
The genitive singular is sībilī. sībilus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce sībilus?
In classical Latin, [ˈsiː.bɪ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsiː.bi.lus].
Which English words come from sībilus?
English words that go back to Latin sībilus include sibilous, sibilant, persiflage, sibilate, sibilation and assibilate.