LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivethird-declension one-termination adjective

simplex

simplex (genitive simplicis, comparative simplicior, superlative simplicissimus, adverb simpliciter)
Classical[ˈsɪm.pɫɛks]Ecclesiastical[ˈsim.pleks]

Meaning

  1. one terminationsingle
  2. one terminationsimple, plain, uncompounded
  3. one terminationpure, unmixed
  4. one terminationsincere, naive, frank, open, without guile, guileless, unsuspecting, innocent
    male crēditis hostī: simplex nōbilitās, perfida tēla cavē!You do wrong to trust the enemy: Guileless nobles, beware of treacherous weapons!8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 2.225–226
  5. one terminationprime
    Simplices sunt, qui nullam aliam partem habent nisi solam unitatem, ut ternarius solam tertiam, et quinarius solam quintam, et septenarius solam septimam. His enim una pars sola est.Prime numbers cannot be partitioned by any other number except one; three has only three, five only five, and seven only seven. For these numbers there is one sole part.Isidore of Seville, Etymologies 3.5.7

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesimplexsimplexsimplex
genitivesimplicissimplicissimplicis
dativesimplicīsimplicīsimplicī
accusativesimplicemsimplicemsimplex
ablativesimplicī
simplice		simplicī
simplice		simplicī
simplice
vocativesimplexsimplexsimplex
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesimplicēssimplicēssimplicia
genitivesimplicium
simplicum		simplicium
simplicum		simplicium
simplicum
dativesimplicibussimplicibussimplicibus
accusativesimplicīs
simplicēs		simplicīs
simplicēs		simplicia
ablativesimplicibussimplicibussimplicibus
vocativesimplicēssimplicēssimplicia

simplex, ĭcis (abl., regul. simplici;
I. simplice, Lucr. 1, 1013), adj. sim-; cf. Sanscr. sam, Gr. ἅμα, with Lat. sin-guli, semel, sem-per; and plico.
I. In gen., simple, plain, uncompounded, unmixed, = ἁπλοῦς (cf.: sincerus, purus): aut simplex est natura animantis, ut vel terrena sit, vel ignea, etc. ... aut concreta est ex pluribus naturis, Cic. N. D. 3, 14, 34: natura (opp. mixta, conexa, etc.), Lucr. 3, 231; Cic. N. D. 2, 11, 29; id. Sen. 21, 78: si unum ac simplex (genus inperii) probandum sit, regium probem, id. Rep. 1, 35, 54; cf. id. ib. 2, 23, 43: finis bonorum, qui simplex esse debet, ex dissimillimis rebus misceri et temperari potest, id. Off. 3, 33, 119: (comoedia) Duplex quae ex argumento facta'st simplici, Ter. Heaut. prol. 6: (auditus) iter simplex et directum (opp. flexuosum), Cic. N. D. 2, 57, 144: simplex est manere, illud (in Hispaniam ire) anceps, free from risk, id. Att. 12, 7, 1: unum est et simplex aurium judicium, free from complication, id. Font. 10, 22 (6, 12): necessitudines, unqualified, absolute, id. Inv. 2, 57, 171; cf.: simplex officium atque una est bonorum omnium causa, id. Sull. 3, 9: nihil simplici in genere omnibus ex partibus perfectum natura expolivit, id. Inv. 2, 1, 3: res aperta ac simplex, id. Caecin. 2, 5: ratio veritatis, id. de Or. 1, 53, 229; Quint. 8, 3, 87: decem regii lembi simplici ordine intrarunt urbem, i. e. one by one, Liv. 44, 12, 6; Tac. H. 5, 23; cf.: simplici directā acie, simplicibus ordinibus, single, Auct. B. Alex. 37, 3 sq.: acies, id. B. Afr. 13, 2: simplex acies media, cornibus duplex, id. ib. 59, 2: simplici caule, Plin. 25, 7, 36, § 74: cum in eo ne simplici quidem genere mortis contenti inimici fuissent, i. e. not with his simple death, but must have torture, Liv. 40, 24, 8: qui necem suam per venenum inimicis promiserat, non gravius quam simplici morte puniit, Suet. Caes. 74: qui proculcari nepotem, quam simplici morte interfici maluit, Just. 44, 4, 4 al.: nec via mortis erat simplex, they died in various ways, Verg. G. 3, 482; cf.: ne simplici quidem morte moriebantur, Sall. ap. Serv. ad Verg. l. l. (H. 3, 25 Dietsch ad loc.): nec modus inserere atque oculos inponere simplex, Verg. G. 2, 73: vulnus, Ov. M. 6, 254: (tibia) tenuis simplexque foramine pauco, Hor. A. P. 203: simplici myrto nihil allabores, id. C. 1, 38, 5: esca, id. S. 2, 2, 73: jus, id. ib. 2, 4, 64: cibus, Plin. 11, 53, 117, § 282: aqua, Ov. Am. 2, 6, 32; Tac. G. 23: arces dejecit plus vice simplici, more than once, Hor. C. 4, 14, 13: verba, uncompounded, Quint. 1, 5, 3: voces, id. 1, 5, 65; but: ornatus verborum duplex, unus simplicium, alius conlocatorum, single, Cic. Or. 24, 80; cf.: quaedam sunt in rebus simplicia, quaedam complicata, id. Fat. 13, 30.—Comp.: quantitas simplicior, Quint. 11, 3, 15.—Sup.: ex simplicissimā quāque materiā (opp. multiplex), Quint. 10, 5, 10: res, id. 10, 2, 10.—
II. In partic., simple in a moral sense, without dissimulation, open, frank, straightforward, direct, guileless, artless, honest, sincere, ingenuous, etc. (cf. candidus).—Of persons: cum de viro bono quaeritur, quem apertum et simplicem volumus esse, non sunt in disputando vafri, non veteratores, non malitiosi, Cic. Rep. 3, 16, 26; id. Off. 1, 19, 63: simplicem et communem et consentientem ... eligi par est (opp. multiplex ingenium et tortuosum), id. Lael. 18, 65; id. Ac. 2, 35, 112: tuum hominis simplicis pectus vidimus, id. Phil. 2, 43, 111; Liv. 24, 10; Hor. S. 1, 3, 52; 2, 2, 68; id. C. 2, 8, 14; Ov. H. 12, 90; 16, 285: credebant simplices ac religiosi homines, Liv. 24, 10, 6.—Of things: fidelis et simplex et fautrix suorum regio, Cic. Planc. 9, 22: animal sine fraude dolisque, Innocuum, simplex, Ov. M. 15, 121: animus, Matius ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 28, 8: nihil simplex, nihil sincerum, Cic. Att. 10, 6, 2: virtus, Vell. 2, 129, 1: verba, Suet. Tib. 61: cogitationes, Tac. G. 22.—Comp.: simplicior quis, too straightforward, too blunt, Hor. S. 1, 3, 63.—Sup.: simplicissimi omnium habentur iracundi, Sen. Ira, 2, 16, 3: dux, Vell. 2, 116, 4: mens, Petr. 101, 3.—Hence, adv.: simplĭcĭter (acc. to I.), simply, plainly, straightforwardly, naturally, directly, utterly, without reserve, = ἁπλῶς: quorum (verborum) primum nobis ratio simpliciter videnda est, deinde conjuncte, Cic. de Or. 3, 37, 149: quaedam genera causarum simpliciter ex suā vi considerantur, id. Inv. 2, 33, 102: ipsa inventa exponentur simpliciter sine ullā exornatione, id. ib. 2, 3, 11: locuti sunt simpliciter et splendide, id. de Or. 2, 16, 68: aut simpliciter quaeritur aut comparate, id. Top. 22, 84: si est simpliciter breviterque dicendum, id. Off. 2, 9, 31; so (with breviter) id. Arch. 12, 32: illud nomen simpliciter positum, hoc ad aliquid esse, Quint. 1, 6, 13: frondes Simpliciter positae, scaena sine arte fuit, Ov. A. A. 1, 106; Tac. G. 5; cf. comp.: brevius ac simplicius tradi, Quint. 8, prooem. § 1: ignorare se dixit, quidnam perplexi sua legatio haberet, cum simpliciter ad amicitiam petendam venissent, simply, purely, only, Liv. 34, 57, 6: quidam ludere eum simpliciter, quidam haud dubie insanire, aiebant, merely, only, id. 41, 20, 4: Cyrenaica philosophia, quam ille et ejus posteri simpliciter defenderunt, Cic. de Or. 3, 17, 62: in sententiā simpliciter e re publicā ferendā, id. Red. ad Quir. 10, 24 B. and K.—Comp.: molluscum simplicius sparsum, Plin. 16, 16, 27, § 68.—
2. (Acc. to II.) Plainly, openly, frankly, artlessly, ingenuously, uprightly, honestly, candidly: simpliciter et candide, Cael. ap. Cic. Fam. 8, 6, 1: simpliciter scripserat quae sentiebat, Curt. 7, 2, 36: simpliciter et libere (opp. dissimulanter et furtim), Plin. Ep. 1, 13, 2: simpliciter et palam lusit, Suet. Aug. 71: me amice simpliciterque reprehenderent, Plin. Ep. 5, 3, 1: qui se simpliciter credunt amicis, id. ib. 6, 22, 1.—Comp.: simultates simplicius nutrire (opp. callide), Tac. H. 3, 53 fin.: quo simplicius tibi confitebor, Plin. Ep. 5, 19, 1; Quint. 1, 13, 2; Tac. H. 3, 53. —Sup.: simplicissime loqui, Tac. H. 1, 15 fin.—
3. In the singular number: dicere, Hier. in Matt. 1, 2 fin.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Latinsimplex

Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-der. Latin sem- Proto-Indo-European *pel-der.? Latin -plex Latin simplex From sem- (“one; single-”) + -plex (“-fold”). The first element (from Proto-Indo-European *sem-, *sm̥-) does not occur independently in Latin, but is also seen in semel (“once”) and semper (“always, forever”). De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *sm̥-plak-s, but also reconstructs Proto-Italic *-plek-s.

Italo-Romance
  • Italiansempice
  • Italiansemprice
  • Italiansemplice
  • Friuliansempliçfrom Italian sempice
  • Siciliansìmprici
Elsewhere
  • Englishsimplex
  • Portuguesesimplesfrom Old Galician-Portuguese simplez
  • Portuguesesímplicefrom Old Galician-Portuguese simplez

Quick answers

What does simplex mean in Latin?
simplex, a adjective, means “single; simple, plain, uncompounded; pure, unmixed”.
How do you pronounce simplex?
In classical Latin, [ˈsɪm.pɫɛks]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsim.pleks].
Where does simplex come from?
Proto-Indo-European *sem- → Latin simplex.