adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective
siccus
siccus (feminine sicca, neuter siccum, comparative siccior)
Classical[ˈsɪk.kʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsik.kus]
sicce sg. voc. m.Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- adjectivedry
quō simul ac vēnit, frēnātōs curribus anguēs
And as soon as she has arrived there, she harnesses the bridled serpents to [her] chariots, and wanders dry over the ocean waves. (See Ceres (mythology).)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.498–499 - adjectivesober
- adjectivethirsty
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
sine aquā; aestāte agrī siccī sunt.siccus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs
sine aquāsiccus -a -um — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 6
sine ōrnāmentō, brevitersiccē (adv.) — in IVLIANVS III: Persia, ch. 2
āridus, sine ūmōresiccus -a -um — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 19
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Aridus · Torridus · Siccus
Aridus and torridus denote an internal want of moisture; but things that are arida (from areo) have lost their moisture from a heat acting within, like αὖος, in opp. to humidus. Plin. Pan. 30, 4; on the other hand, torrida (from τέρσω), from a heat penetrating from without, in opp. to uvidus, like σκληρός;—siccus denotes dryness that is only external, confined to the surface, in opp. to madidus, like ξηρός. Plin. H. N. xii. 12. Ne sint fragilia et arida potius quam sicca folia. And xv. 29. Cato docuit vinum fieri ex nigra myrta siccata usque in ariditatem in umbra. Colum. vii. 4. (vi. 244.)
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | siccus | sicca | siccum |
| genitive | siccī | siccae | siccī |
| dative | siccō | siccae | siccō |
| accusative | siccum | siccam | siccum |
| ablative | siccō | siccā | siccō |
| vocative | sicce | sicca | siccum |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | siccī | siccae | sicca |
| genitive | siccōrum | siccārum | siccōrum |
| dative | siccīs | siccīs | siccīs |
| accusative | siccōs | siccās | sicca |
| ablative | siccīs | siccīs | siccīs |
| vocative | siccī | siccae | sicca |
siccus, a, um, adj. cf. Sanscr. cush, to dry up; Gr. αὔω,
I. dry.
I. Lit.
A. In gen. (mostly poet. and in post-Aug. prose; cf.
aridus): arena, Verg. G. 1, 389: fauces fluminum, id. ib. 4, 427: siccāque in rupe resedit, id. A. 5, 180: litus, id. ib. 6, 162: siccum et sine umore ullo solum, Quint. 2, 4, 8: glebae, Hor. Epod. 16, 55: agri, id. S. 2, 4, 15: lacus, Prop. 2, 14 (3, 6), 11: regio, Curt. 9, 10, 2: via (opp. palustris), Dig. 43, 8, 2, § 32 et saep.—Sup.: horreum siccissimum, Col. 12, 15, 2: oculi, tearless, Quint. 6, 2, 27; Prop. 1, 17, 11; Hor. C. 1, 3, 18; so, lumina, Tib. 1, 1, 66; Luc. 9, 1044: genae, Prop. 4 (5), 11, 80. Ov. H. 11, 10: decurrere pedibus super aequora siccis, id. M. 14, 50; and, transf.: siccus aerumnas tuli, tearless, Sen. Herc. Oet. 1270: pocula, Tib. 3, 6, 18: urna, Hor. C. 3, 11, 23: panis, dry bread, Sen. Ep. 83, 6; Plin. 22, 25, 68, § 139: agaricum manducatum siccum, id. 26, 7, 18, § 32; Capitol. Anton. 13; Vop. Tac. 11: spolia non sanguine sicca suo, Prop. 4 (5), 10, 12. cuspis, Stat. Th. 8, 383: ensis, Sen. Troad. 50.—With gen.: sicci stimulabant sanguinis enses, i. e. bloodless, Sil. 7, 213: carinae, standing dry, Hor. C. 1, 4, 2: magna minorque ferae (i. e. ursa major et minor), utraque sicca, i. e. that do not dip into, set beneath the sea, Ov. Tr. 4, 3, 2; so, signa, id. ib. 4, 9, 18: aquae, i. e. snow, Mart. 4, 3, 7: vox, dried up with heat, husky, Ov. M. 2, 278 et saep.—2. As subst.: siccum, i; and plur.: sicca, ōrum, n., dry land, a dry place; dry places:
donec rostra tenent siccum, Verg. A. 10, 301: in sicco, on the dry land, on the shore, Prop. 3, 10 (9), 6; Verg. G. 1, 363; Liv. 1, 4; Plin. 9, 8, 8, § 27; 26, 7, 22, § 39: ut aqua piscibus, ut sicca terrenis, circumfusus nobis spiritus volucribus convenit, Quint. 12, 11, 13: harundo, quae in siccis provenit, Plin. 16, 36, 66, § 165; so, in siccis, id. 17, 22, 35, § 170.— B. In partic.
1. Of the weather, dry, without rain:
sive annus siccus est ... seu pluvius, Col. 3, 20, 1: ver, Plin. 11, 29, 35, § 101: aestivi tempora sicca Canis, Tib. 1, 4, 6; for which: incipit et sicco fervere terra Cane, Prop. 2, 28 (3, 24), 4: sole dies referente siccos, Hor. C. 3, 29, 20: siccis aër fervoribus ustus, Ov. M. 1, 119: caelum, Plin. 18, 12, 31, § 123: ventus, id. 2, 47, 48, § 126; Luc. 4, 50: luna, Prop. 2, 17 (3, 9), 15; Plin. 17, 9, 8, § 57; cf. id. 17, 14, 24, § 112: nubes, i. e. without rain, Luc. 4, 331: hiemps, without snow, Ov. Am. 3, 6, 106.—2. Of the human body, dry, as a healthy state (opp. rheumy, catarrhal, tumid, etc.), firm, solid, vigorous:
(mulier) sicca, succida, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 192; Petr. 37: corpora sicciora cornu, Cat. 23, 12: corpora graciliora siccioraque, Plin. 34, 8, 19, § 65: (puella) Nec bello pede ... nec ore sicco, free from saliva, Cat. 43, 3; cf. tussis, without expectoration, Cels. 4, 6: medicamentum, causing dryness, Scrib. Comp. 71. —3. Dry, thirsty:
nimis diu sicci sumus, Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 41; cf.: siti sicca sum, id. Curc. 1, 2, 26; 1, 2, 22; id. Ps. 1, 2, 51; Hor. S. 2, 2, 14: faucibus siccis, fasting, Verg. A. 2, 358.—b. Transf., abstemious, temperate, sober (syn. sobrius): Art. Ego praeter alios meum virum fui rata Siccum, frugi, continentem, etc. Pa. At nunc dehinc scito, illum ante omnes ... Madidum, nihili, incontinentem, Plaut. As. 5, 2, 7; so (opp. vinolentus) Cic. Ac. 2, 27, 88; id. Agr. 1, 1, 1; id. Fragm. ap. Non. 395, 4 (opp. vinolenti); Sen. Ep. 18, 3; Hor. S. 2, 3, 281; id. C. 4, 5, 39:
siccis omnia dura deus proposuit, id. ib. 1, 18, 3; id. Ep. 1, 19, 9; 1, 17, 12.—II. Trop.
1. Firm, solid (acc. to I. B. 2.):
(Attici) sani duntaxat et sicci habeantur, Cic. Opt. Gen. 3, 8; cf.: nihil erat in ejus oratione nisi sincerum, nihil nisi siccum atque sanum, id. Brut. 55, 202; Quint. 2, 4, 6.—2. Of style, dry, insipid, jejune (acc. to I. B. 3.):
siccum et sollicitum et contractum dicendi propositum, Quint. 11, 1, 32: sicca et incondita et propemodum jejuna oratio, Gell. 14, 1, 32: durus et siccus, Tac. Or. 21: ne sicci omnino atque aridi pueri rhetoribus traderentur, ignorant, unformed, unprepared, Suet. Gram. 4.—3. Dry, cold:
medullae, i. e. void of love, cold, Prop. 2, 12 (3, 3), 17; so, puella, Ov. A. A. 2, 686; Mart. 11, 81, 2; cf. id. 11, 17, 8.—Hence, adv.: siccē, dryly, without wet or damp (very rare; perh. only in the two foll. passages). A. Lit.:
ut bos sicce stabuletur, Col. 6, 12, 2.—B. Trop.:
eos solos Attice dicere, id est quasi sicce et integre, firmly, solidly, Cic. Opt. Gen. 4, 12; v. supra, II.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
siccus adj.,
dry: harena, V.: fauces fluminum, V.: siccāque in rupe resedit, V.: agri, H.: regio, Cu.: oculi, tearless, H.: decurrere pedibus super aequora siccis, O.: carinae, standing dry, H.: Magna minorque ferae (i. e. Ursa Maior et Minor), utraque sicca, i. e. that do not dip into the sea, O.—As subst n., dry land, a dry place: Donec rostra tenent siccum, V.: in sicco, on the shore, L. —Of the weather, dry, without rain: Sole dies referente siccos, H.: siccis aër fervoribus ustus, O.: hiemps, without snow, O.—Dry, thirsty: siccus, inanis Sperne cibum vilem, H.: ore sicco, free from saliva, Ct.: Faucibus siccis, fasting, V.— Abstemious, temperate, sober: consilia siccorum: dicimus Sicci mane, H.—Fig., firm, solid: (Attici) sani et sicci dumtaxat habeantur: nihil erat in eius oratione nisi siccum atque sanum.—Dry, cold: puella, loveless, O.
Origins
Probably from Proto-Italic *siskʷos, from Proto-Indo-European *siskus (“dry”), presumably from *sek- (“to dry up”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἰσχνός (iskhnós), Proto-Celtic *siskʷos, Lithuanian sèkti (“to lower oneself, sink, dry out”), Sanskrit असश्चुषी (asaścuṣī, “not drying up”), though the phonetic details are unclear.
Elsewhere
- Catalansec
- Frenchsec
- Italiansecco
- Occitansec
- Portuguesesecofrom Old Galician-Portuguese seco
- Romaniansec
- Sardiniansiccu
- Spanishseco
- Aromaniansec
- Asturiansecu
Gallo-Italic
- Romagnolsèc
- Romagnolsècc
- Liguriansecco