LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

sīmia

sīmia f or m (genitive sīmiae)
Classical[ˈsiː.mi.a]Ecclesiastical[ˈsiː.mi.a]

Meaning

  1. an ape, monkey
    Attributed to Ennius by Cicero in De natura deorum, Book I, Chapter XXXV Sīmia quam similis turpissima bēstia nōbīs!The ape, most vile beast, how similar to us!
  2. derogatorymonkey
  3. an imitator

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativesīmiasīmiae
genitivesīmiaesīmiārum
dativesīmiaesīmiīs
sīmiābus
accusativesīmiamsīmiās
ablativesīmiāsīmiīs
sīmiābus
vocativesīmiasīmiae

sīmĭa, ae, f. (rarely m.), or sīmĭus, ii, m. etym. dub.; perh. akin with similis.
I. An ape, Plin. 8, 54, 80, § 215; 11, 44, 100, § 246; Enn. ap. Cic. N. D. 1, 35, 97 (Sat. v. 45 Vahl.); Cic. Div. 1, 34, 76; 2, 32, 69; Plaut. Mil. 2, 2, 7; 2, 2, 23; 2, 2, 106; id. Rud. 3, 1, 6 sq.; 3, 4, 66; Quint. 5, 11, 30 al. —Form simius, Phaedr. 1, 10, 6; 1, 10, 8; Mart. 14, 202; Claud. in Eutr. 1, 303.—
II. Esp.
A. As a term of abuse (hence even simia in the masc.): quis hic est simia, qui, etc., Afran. ap. Charis. p. 84; so, simia, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 12, 2: simius, Laber. ap. Charis. l. l.; Vatin. ap. Cic. Fam. 5, 10, 1.—
B. Of imitators: vide, ut fastidit simia! Plaut. Most. 4, 2, 4; so, simia, Plin Ep. 1, 5, 2; Capitol. Max. jun. 1; Sid. Ep. 1, 1: simius, Hor. S. 1, 10, 18; Sen. Contr. 4, 26 fin.

Origins

From sīmus (“snub-nosed”), ultimately from Ancient Greek σῑμός (sīmós, “snub-nosed”).

Descendants
  • Catalanxímia
  • Englishsimian
  • Italianscimmia
  • Spanishjimiafrom Old Spanish ximia
  • Portuguesesímia
  • Romaniansimie
  • Emiliansémmia
  • Romanshschimgia
  • Romanshschemia
  • Romanshschemgia

Quick answers

What does sīmia mean in Latin?
sīmia, a noun, means “an ape, monkey; monkey; an imitator”.
What is the genitive of sīmia?
The genitive singular is sīmiae. sīmia is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce sīmia?
In classical Latin, [ˈsiː.mi.a]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsiː.mi.a].