LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

sincērus

sincērus (feminine sincēra, neuter sincērum, comparative sincērior, adverb sincērē or sincēriter)
Classical[sɪŋˈkeː.rʊs]Ecclesiastical[sin̠ʲˈt͡ʃɛː.rus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveclean, pure, sound
  2. adjectiveuninjured, whole
  3. adjectivereal, natural
  4. adjectivegenuine, sincere

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesincērussincērasincērum
genitivesincērīsincēraesincērī
dativesincērōsincēraesincērō
accusativesincērumsincēramsincērum
ablativesincērōsincērāsincērō
vocativesincēresincērasincērum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesincērīsincēraesincēra
genitivesincērōrumsincērārumsincērōrum
dativesincērīssincērīssincērīs
accusativesincērōssincērāssincēra
ablativesincērīssincērīssincērīs
vocativesincērīsincēraesincēra

sincērus, a, um, adj. sin- = sim-, v. simplex; root in Sanscr. sama, whole, together; and root skir-, Sanscr. kir-, pour out,
I. clean, pure, sound, not spoiled, uninjured, whole, entire, real, natural, genuine, sincere (class.; esp. freq. in the trop. sense; cf.: simplex, verus, incorruptus).
I. Lit.: omnia fucata et simulata a sinceris atque veris (internoscere), Cic. Lael. 25, 95: aliquem ab omni incommodo, detrimento, molestiā sincerum integrumque conservare, unharmed, unhurt, id. Fam. 13, 50, 2: corpus (with sine vulnere), Ov. M. 12, 100; cf. pars, id. ib. 1, 191: membra, Lucr. 3, 717: porci sacres, sound, Plaut. Men. 2, 2, 16; cf. in comp.: cum jam me sinceriore corpusculo factum diceret (medicus), Gell. 18, 10, 4: sincerum tergum ... corium sincerissimum, clear (of weals), Plaut. Rud. 3, 4, 51 sq.; cf. so, corium, id. Most. 4, 1, 13: vas, clean, Hor. S. 1, 3, 56; id. Ep. 1, 2, 54: ex amphorā primum quod est sincerissimum effluit, Sen. Ep. 108, 26: lac, Col. 7, 8, 1; so, Amineum, id. 12, 47, 6: crocus, Plin. 21, 6, 17, § 32: axungia, id. 28, 9, 37, § 135: gemma (opp. sordium plena), id. 37, 8, 33, § 110: propria et sincera et tantum sui similis gens, unmixed, pure, Tac. G. 4; so, populus, id. H. 4, 64 fin.; Suet. Aug. 40: nobilitas, Liv. 4, 4, 7: nitor, Sen. Ep. 66, 46.— Comp.: lux sincerior, App. de Mundo, p. 58, 29.—*
b. Sincerum, adverb.: non sincerum sonĕre, that it does not ring clearly, is not genuine, Lucr. 3, 873.—
II. Trop.: Atheniensium semper fuit prudens sincerumque judicium, sound, uncorrupted, Cic. Or. 8, 25: nihil erat in ejus (Cottae) oratione nisi sincerum, id. Brut. 55, 202; cf.: esse videtur Homeri (versus) simplicior et sincerior, Gell. 13, 26, 3; so, sincera gratia sermonis Attici, Quint. 10, 1, 65: sincera et integra natura, Tac. Or. 28 fin.: animus, Sen. Cons. Helv. 11, 6: vir, id. Ep. 73, 4: opiniones, id. ib. 94, 68: Minerva, pure, chaste, Ov. M. 8, 664: sincerum equestre proelium, unmixed, pure, Liv. 30, 11: non sincerum gaudium praebere, not unmixed, not undisturbed, id. 34, 41; so, gaudium, id. 44, 44: gaudium sincerius, Just. 10, 1, 3: voluptas, Ov. M. 7, 453: fama, unblemished, Gell. 6, 8, 5: Thucydides rerum gestarum pronunciator sincerus, honest, candid, upright, Cic. Brut. 83, 287; cf.: Fabii Annales, bonae atque sincerae vetustatis libri, Gell. 5, 4, 1.— Sup.: Q. Claudius optimus et sincerissimus scriptor, Gell. 15, 1, 4: verus atque sincerus Stoicus, id. 1, 2, 7 et saep.: mirabilia multa, nihil simplex, nihil sincerum, natural, genuine, Cic. Att. 10, 6, 2: nihil est jam sanctum neque sincerum in civitate, id. Quint. 1, 5: aliquid non sinceri, id. Div. 2, 57, 118: fides, Liv. 39, 2, 1: concordia, Tac. A. 3, 64: caritas, id. ib. 2, 42.—Hence, advv.
a. sincērē, uprightly, honestly, well, frankly, sincerely: sincere dicere, * Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 97: satin' ego oculis utilitatem obtineo sincere, an parum, Plaut. Ep. 5, 1, 28: sincere et ex animo dicere, Cat. 109, 4: pronunciare, * Caes. B. G. 7, 20: agere, Attic. ap. Cic. Att. 9, 10, 9: administrare provincias, Val. Max. 2, 2, 8.—Comp., Gell. 6 ($3), 3, 55.—Sup., Aug. Ep. ad Volus. 3 fin.— *
b. sincērĭter, sincerely: aliquid cupere, Gell. 13, 16, 1; Cod. Just. 8, 28, 10.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *senkairos, from Proto-Indo-European *sem- (compare Latin simplex, and Sanskrit सम (sama, “whole, together”)) and *ḱer- (“grow”) (compare Sanskrit किर् (kir, “pour out”)). According to De Vaan, the second part of the compound derives from the unattested adjective *caerus found in the first part of caerimōnia, which is also related to caelum (“sky”). However, this is problematic: the expected outcome of Proto-Italic *senkairos would be *sincīrus, since Proto-Italic /ai/ gives /iː/, not /eː/ under vowel reduction (as in occīdere), and it is implausible that this word was imported from rural dialects of Latin which monophthongize /ai/ to /ɛː/, as in fēnum, without leaving any trace of the urban Latin development.

Descendants
  • Catalansencer
  • Occitansencer
  • Italiansincero
  • Sardiniansincheru
  • Catalansincer
  • Frenchsincèrefrom Middle French sincere
  • Englishsincerefrom Middle French sincere
  • Portuguesesincero
  • Romaniansincer
  • Spanishsincero

In English words that came into English from sincērus

  • sinceresincērus
  • sinceritysincēritās
  • sincerelysincērus
  • insincereinsincerus

Quick answers

What does sincērus mean in Latin?
sincērus, a adjective, means “clean, pure, sound; uninjured, whole; real, natural”.
How do you pronounce sincērus?
In classical Latin, [sɪŋˈkeː.rʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [sin̠ʲˈt͡ʃɛː.rus].
Which English words come from sincērus?
English words that go back to Latin sincērus include sincere, sincerely, sincerity and insincere.