What does somnus mean in Latin?

somnus, a noun, means “sleep, slumber; drowsiness, idleness, inactivity, laziness, sloth; death”.

What is the genitive of somnus?

The genitive singular is somnī. somnus is masculine, second declension.

How do you pronounce somnus?

In classical Latin, [ˈsɔm.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsɔm.nus].

Which English words come from somnus?

English words that go back to Latin somnus include somnambulant, parasomnia, somniloquous, somnifacient, somnipathy and somnambulize.

noun · masculinesecond declension

somnus

somnus m (genitive somnī)

Classical[ˈsɔm.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɔm.nus]

№ 438 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

masculinesleep, slumber
per somnum/somnossleeping
in somnis/somnosleeping
masculinedrowsiness, idleness, inactivity, laziness, sloth
figurativelymasculinedeath

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī dormit, in somnō est; somnus fessīs vīrēs reddit.

somnus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Corpus Hūmānum

quiēs noctis

sleep

somnus -ī (m) — in De Bello Gallico I, ch. 5

cum dormīmus

somnus -ī (m) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 1, 7

quiēs dormientis

somnus -ī (m) — in Metamorphoses I, †

sleep

somnus — in Seneca, ch. XII

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Somnus · Sopor · Somnium · Insomnium

1. Somnus (ὕπνος) denotes sleep, as a usual prosaic expression; sopor (ὕπαρ) as a select poetical expression. In prose sopor has only a causative meaning, a means of producing sleep, but not a deep sleep. 2. Somnium denotes a dream, in prose, like ὄναρ; insomnium, in poetry, like ἐνύπνιον. (v. 278.)

Declension

declension
form	singular	plural
nominative	somnus	somnī
genitive	somnī	somnōrum
dative	somnō	somnīs
accusative	somnum	somnōs
ablative	somnō	somnīs
vocative	somne	somnī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

somno solvi: to awake.
per somnum, in somnis: in a dream.
somnum capere non posse: to be unable to sleep.
somno or quieti se tradere: to lay oneself down to sleep
somno captum, oppressum esse: to be overcome by sleep.
in somnis visus (mihi) sum videre: I dreamed I saw...
corpus curare (cibo, vino, somno): to refresh oneself, minister to one's bodily wants.
in somnis videre aliquid or speciem: to see something in a dream.

4 more phrases

(e) somno excitare, dormientem excitare: to rouse, wake some one.
somnum oculis meis non vidi (Fam. 7. 30): I haven't had a wink of sleep.
artus somnus aliquem complectitur (Rep. 6. 10): to fall fast asleep.
curae somnum mihi adimunt, dormire me non sinunt: I cannot sleep for anxiety.

somnus, i, m. Sanscr. svap-nas; Gr. ὕπνος; som-nus for sop-nus; cf.: sopor, sopio.

I. Lit., sleep: hostes vino domiti somnoque sepulti, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6 (Ann. v. 291 Vahl.); Lucr. 1, 133: vix aegro cum corde meo me somnus reliquit, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 52 Vahl.); cf., on the contrary: pandite sulti' genas et corde relinquite somnum, id. ap. Fest. p. 343 Müll. (Ann. v. 521 Vahl.): somnum capere, Plaut. Mil. 3, 1, 115; cf. Cic. Tusc. 4, 19, 44: somnum videre, Ter. Heaut. 3, 1, 82: Caninius suo toto consulatu somnum non vidit, Cic. Fam. 7, 30, 1: somnum tenere, id. Brut. 80, 278: somno se dare, id. Tusc. 1, 47, 113: me artior quam solebat somnus complexus est, id. Rep. 6, 10, 10: puella somno fessa, Tib. 1, 3, 88: somno vincta, Ov. M. 11, 238; Liv. 5, 44; Suet. Aug. 16: hos oppressos somno, Caes. B. C. 2, 38 fin.: ne me e somno excitetis, Cic. Rep. 6, 12, 12: so, ex somno excitare aliquem, id. Sull. 8, 24: e somno suscitari, id. Tusc. 4, 19, 44: somno solutus sum, id. Rep. 6, 26, 29: cum ergo est somno sevocatus animus a societate, id. Div. 1, 30, 63: palpebrae somno coniventes, id. N. D. 2, 57, 143: somno languidus, Quint. 4, 2, 106: in somnis aliquid videre, in sleep, in dreams, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 325 Müll. (Ann. v. 228 Vahl.); cf. Plaut. Curc. 2, 2, 10; Poët. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 21, 44; Cic. N. D. 1, 29, 82; id. Div. 1, 24, 49; 1, 25, 44; 1, 53, 121; 2, 70, 144; Verg. A. 2, 270; 4, 466; 4, 557 al.; so, less freq.: per somnum, Cic. Div. 2, 11, 27; Liv. 2, 36, 4; Verg. A. 5, 636; and: per somnos, Plin. 23, 1, 24, § 49; cf.: ea si cui in somno accidant, Att. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 22, 45: datur in somnum euntibus, Plin. 26, 8, 47, § 74: somnum petiere, Ov. M. 13, 676; Quint. 9, 4, 12: ducere somnos, i. e. protract slumber, continue to sleep, Verg. A. 4, 560 (cf.: trahere quietem, Prop. 1, 14, 9); so, educere somnos, Sil. 11, 405; but: pocula ducentia somnos, causing sleep, Hor. Epod. 14, 3: verba placidos facientia somnos, Ov. M. 7, 153: nuces somnum faciunt, Plin. 23, 8, 75, § 144: odor somnum gignit, id. 21, 19, 77, § 132: somnum parere, id. 19, 8, 38, § 126: adferre, id. 32, 2, 11, § 24: conciliare (opp. fugare), id. 14, 18, 22, § 117: concitare, id. 20, 17, 73, § 189: adlicere, id. 26, 3, 8, § 14: somnos invitare, Hor. Epod. 2, 28: adimere, id. C. 1, 25, 3: avertere, id. S. 1, 5, 15: rumpere, Sil. 3, 167: perturbare, Quint. 12, 1, 6.— Poet.: conditque natantia lumina somnus, Verg. G. 4, 496: labi ut somnum sensit in artus, Ov. M. 11, 631: serpens, Plin. 7, 24, 24, § 90: graviore somno premi, id. 9, 13, 15, § 42: voltus in somnum cadit, Sen. Herc. Fur. 1044: somno cedere, Val. Fl. 2, 71: lumina mergere somno, id. 8, 65: somnus altus, Hor. S. 2, 1, 8: somni faciles, Ov. H. 11, 29; cf.: somno mollior herba, Verg. E. 7, 45: somni pingues, Ov. Am. 1, 13, 7; Luc. 10, 354: plenus, Cels. 1, 3: intermissus, Quint. 10, 6, 1: lenis et placidus, Sen. Herc. Fur. 1075: gravis, id. ib. 1051: servus ad somnum, who keeps watch during one's sleep, Curt. 6, 11, 3.—Personified: Somnus, as a divinity, son of Erebus and Nox, Hyg. Fab. praef.; Verg. A. 5, 838; 6, 390; Ov. M. 11, 586, 11, 593; 11, 623 sq.; Stat. Th. 10, 87; Tib. 2, 1, 90 al.—

B. Esp., in reproachful sense, sleep, sloth, drowsiness, inactivity, slumber, idleness, etc.: corde relinquite somnum, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 343 Müll. (Ann. v. 521 Vahl.): dediti ventri ac somno, Sall. C. 2, 8: somno et conviviis et delectationi nati, Cic. Sest. 66, 138: somno et luxu pudendus, Tac. H. 2, 90: somno indulsit, id. A. 16, 19: dediti somno ciboque, id. G. 15; Vell. 2, 1, 1.—

II. Poet., transf.

A. Night: Libra die somnique pares ubi fecerit horas, Verg. G. 1, 208; cf. Sil. 3, 200. —

B. Death (mostly with adjj.): longus, Hor. C. 3, 11, 38: componit lumina somno, Sil. 5, 529: niger, id. 7, 633: frigidus, Val. Fl. 3, 178; SO, SOMNO AETERNO SACRVM, Inscr. Orell. 4428: REQVIESCIT IN SOMNO PACIS, ib. 1121.—

C. Of a calm at sea: pigro torpebant aequora somno, Stat. S. 3, 2, 73: imbelli recubant litora somno, id. Th. 3, 256. —

D. A dream: exterrita somno, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 20, 40 (Ann. v. 37 Vahl.): promissa somni, Sil. 3, 216.

Origins

Inherited from Proto-Italic *swepnos, from Proto-Indo-European *swépnos, from *swep- + *-nós. Compare Ancient Greek ὕπνος (húpnos), Lithuanian sãpnas, Sanskrit स्वप्न (svapna)).

Northern Gallo-Romance

Frenchsommeil
Frenchsomme
Franco-Provençalsono
Walloonsoumey

Southern Gallo-Romance

Catalanson
Occitansòm

Ibero-Romance

Portuguesesonofrom Old Galician-Portuguese sono
Spanishsueño
Asturiansueñu
Galiciansonofrom Old Galician-Portuguese sono

Balkan Romance

Romaniansomn
Aromaniansomnu

Italo-Romance

Italiansonno
Ligurianséunno
Neapolitansuonno
Siciliansonnu

Sardinian

Sardiniansonnu

Padanian

Emiliansånn
Friuliansium
Romanshsien
Romanshsön
Venetansono

Elsewhere

Dalmatiansamno

In English words that came into English from somnus

insomniaīnsomnia
somnolentsomnolentus
somnambulismsomnambulus
somnambulistsomnambulus
somnolencesomnolentia
somnambulantsomnus
parasomniasomnus
somniloquoussomnus
somnifacientsomnus
somnipathysomnus
somnambulizesomnus
somnivolentsomnus
somnificsomnificus
somniferoussomnifer
somnambulationsomnus
somniloquacioussomnus