LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

speciōsus

speciōsus (feminine speciōsa, neuter speciōsum, comparative speciōsior, superlative speciōsissimus)
Classical[spɛ.kiˈoː.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[spe.t͡ʃiˈɔː.s̬us]
speciōse sg. voc. m.

Meaning

  1. adjectivegood-looking, handsome, beautiful
  2. adjectivesplendid, brilliant
  3. adjectiveshowy, specious

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pulcher speciē, saepe falsus
speciōsus -a -um — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 14, 22

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativespeciōsusspeciōsaspeciōsum
genitivespeciōsīspeciōsaespeciōsī
dativespeciōsōspeciōsaespeciōsō
accusativespeciōsumspeciōsamspeciōsum
ablativespeciōsōspeciōsāspeciōsō
vocativespeciōsespeciōsaspeciōsum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativespeciōsīspeciōsaespeciōsa
genitivespeciōsōrumspeciōsārumspeciōsōrum
dativespeciōsīsspeciōsīsspeciōsīs
accusativespeciōsōsspeciōsāsspeciōsa
ablativespeciōsīsspeciōsīsspeciōsīs
vocativespeciōsīspeciōsaespeciōsa

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

haec speciosiora quam veriora sunt
this is more plausible than true.

spĕcĭōsus, a, um, adj. species (acc. to species, II. B. 3.),
I. good-looking, showy, handsome, beautiful, splendid, brilliant (not freq. till after the Aug. period; syn.: venustus, pulcher, formosus, spectabilis).
A. Lit. (not so in Cic.): hunc speciosum pelle decorā, Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 45: femina, Quint. 5, 10, 47: puer, Petr. 41, 6: corpora, Quint. 11, 3, 26: nec id speciosum fieri putabo, id. 5, 12, 19: in certaminibus speciosa atque robusta, id. 11, 3, 26: ministerium, Vell. 2, 111, 3: familia, id. 2, 59, 2.—Comp.: familiam nemo speciosiorem producit, Sen. Ep. 87, 6: si plenior aliquis et speciosior et coloratior factus est, Cels. 2, 2.—Sup.: homo (Alcibiades), Quint. 8, 4, 23: corpus, id. 2, 15, 9: filia, Petr. 140, 2.—
B. Trop.: reversionis has speciosas causas habes, well-sounding, plausible, specious, Cic. Att. 16, 7, 6; cf.: specioso titulo uti vos, Romani, Graecarum civitatium liberandarum video, Liv. 35, 16: dictu speciosa, id. 1, 23: gerentis bellum Romanos speciosum Graeciae liberandae tulisse titulum, id. 42, 52, 15; 36, 17, 13; cf. Quint. 8, 6, 8: magis necessarium quam speciosum, ministerium, Liv. 4, 8, 6: dicere aliquod speciosum, Quint. 1, 5, 3: speciosum dicendi genus, id. 10, 1, 127: vocabula rerum, Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 116: miracula, id. A. P. 144: speciosa locis morataque recte Fabula, id. ib. 319: speciosa nomina culpae Imponis, Ov. M. 7, 69: specioso eripe damno, from this splendid misery, id. ib. 11, 133.—Comp.: cum speciosius quid dicendum est, Quint. 11, 3, 84: speciosior rhetorice quam dialectice, id. 2, 20, 7: speciosiore stili genere, id. 7, 1, 54: gestarum rerum ordinem sequi speciosius fuit, id. 3, 7, 15.—Sup.: longe speciosissimum genus orationis, Quint. 8, 6, 49. —Adv.: spĕcĭōsē, showily, handsomely, splendidly.
1. Lit.: vehi, i. e. in a painted or ornamented vessel, Plin. 35, 7, 31, § 49. —Comp.: speciosius instratus equus quam uxor vestita, Liv. 34, 7: tractet arma, Hor. Ep. 1, 18, 52: quo speciosius ingrediantur sublimes, Col. 2, 2, 22.—Sup.: contorta hasta (with optime emissa), Quint. 9, 4, 8.—
2. Trop.: dictum, Quint. 9, 4, 14: translatum, id. 2, 5, 9.—Sup.: usus est, Quint. 8, 6, 18.

Origins

Proto-Italic *-jēs Latin -iēs Latin speciēs Latin -osus Latin speciōsus From speciēs (“appearance”) + -osus (“-ose, -ous, forming adjectives”).

Descendants
  • Englishspecious
  • Frenchspécieux
  • Italianspecioso
  • Italianspezioso
  • Portugueseespecioso
  • Romanianspecios
  • Spanishespecioso

In English words that came into English from speciōsus

  • speciousspeciōsus
  • speciosityspeciōsitās

Quick answers

What does speciōsus mean in Latin?
speciōsus, a adjective, means “good-looking, handsome, beautiful; splendid, brilliant; showy, specious”.
How do you pronounce speciōsus?
In classical Latin, [spɛ.kiˈoː.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [spe.t͡ʃiˈɔː.s̬us].