LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

specus

specus m or f or n (genitive specūs)

Meaning

  1. femininemasculineneutercave, grotto
    Quārē age hūc aditum ferēns perge linquere Thespiae rūpis Āoniōs specūs, nympha quōs super irrigatSo come here approaching, proceed to leave the Aonian caves of the Thespian rock, which the cooling nymph Aganippe showers from above.c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 61.26–30
    Hīc specus horrendum et saevī spīracula Dītis mōnstrantur, ruptōque ingēns Acherōnte vorāgō pestiferās aperit faucēs, quīs condita Erīnȳs, invīsum nūmen, terrās caelumque levābat. Here the horrible cave and the breathing hole of the cruel Dis is shown, and a giant whirlpool, with the Acheron burst forth,hated god, relieved the Earth and the heavens by hiding.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 7.568–571
  2. femininemasculineneuterditch, canal, drain
    In Baiānō autem aedificāns tantā ardēbat cūrā, ut architectō permīserit vel ut suam pecūniam consūmeret, dummodo perdūceret specūs ē piscīnīs in mare obiectā mōle, quā aestus bis cotīdiē ab exortā lūnā ad proximam novam introīre ac redīre rūrsus in mare posset ac refrīgerāre piscīnās.But while building in Baiae he burned with such an enthusiasm that he allowed the architect to spend money as if his own, if he would run canals from the ponds, with the boulder thrown away in the sea, so that the tide could enter and exit back into the sea twice a day from the appareance of the moon until the next new moon and cool the ponds.116 BCE – 27 BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum rusticarum 3.17.9
  3. femininemasculineneuterpit
  4. femininemasculineneuterchasm, abyss
  5. femininemasculineneuterpoeticcavity
    […]reddit specus ātri vulneris undam[…] the cavity of the dark wound gives back a foaming flow, and the iron grows warm inside the punctured lung.29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 9.700–701

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Specus · Caverna · Antrum · Spelunca · Spelæum · Fovea · Scrobs

1. Specus and caverna are cavities, whether under-ground, or on a level with the ground,—consequently, a species of antrum; spelunca and spelæum, cavities with a perpendicular opening, leading up into a mountain; scrobs, fovea, and favissa, pits with an horizontal opening, leading down into the earth. 2. Specus (σπέος) is a gap, with a longish opening; caverna (from κύαρ) a hole, with a round opening. 3. Spelunca (σπήλυγξ) is a cavity, in a merely physical relation, with reference to its darkness and dreadfulness; antrum (ἄντρον) a grotto, as a beautiful object, with reference to its romantic appearance and cooling temperature; lastly, spelæum (σπήλαιον) is used only by the poets, as the abode and lurking-hole of wild beasts. 4. Fovea (from φύειν) is a pit meant to remain open, or only covered in order to keep in or to catch a wild beast; scrobs, a pit meant to be filled up again, and only dug, in order to bury something, the root of a tree, for instance, or a corpse. (v. 140.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativespecusspecūs
speca
genitivespecūsspecuum
dativespecuīspecubus
specibus
accusativespecum
specus		specūs
speca
ablativespecūspecubus
specibus
vocativespecusspecūs
speca

spĕcus, ūs (
I. abl. plur. specibus, Sen. Cons. ap. Front. Aquaed. 125; on the various forms found only in the grammarians, v. Neue, Formenl. 1, 569 sq.), m. (f. and n. v. infra) [perh. root spec-; v. specio, and so orig. a hole, aperture; but cf. σπέος].
I. Lit., a cave, cavern, grot, den; a cavity, chasm, natural or artificial; of the latter kind, a ditch, drain, canal, channel, covered water-course, a pit in mines, etc. (cf. spelunca).
(a). Masc. (class. and freq.): inferum vastos specus, Enn. ap. Non. 222, 32 (Trag. v. 218 Vahl.): specus tenebricosus, Varr. ib. 222, 31: fons ex opaco specu, Liv. 1, 21; so abl. sing., id. 1, 56, 10; 10, 10, 1: forum medium ferme specu vasto collapsum dicitur, id. 7, 6; so sing., Ov. M. 3, 29; 7, 409; 11, 235; id. F. 4, 495; Liv. 10, 1, 5; Tac. A. 16, 1, 3; 16, 4, 59.—Plur.: quos agor in specus? Hor. C. 3, 25, 2: paucos specus in extremo fundo, et eos quidem subterraneos, * Cic. Att. 15, 26, 4; so of drains, ditches, Varr. R. R. 3, 17 fin.; Cat. 61, 28; Liv. 39, 13, 13; Tac. A. 12, 57; id. G. 16; Sen. Med. 741 al.—
(b). Fem. (ante- and post-class.): concava specus, Enn. ap. Non. 222, 23 (Ann. v. 420 Vahl.); cf. Serv. Verg. A. 7, 568; Pac. ap. Non. 223, 2 Müll. (Trag. p. 91 Rib.); id. ap. Fest. p. 343 Müll. (l. l. p. 73 Rib.): specum quandam nactus remotam latebrosamque, in eam me penetro et recondo, Gell. 5, 14, 18; Sil. 6, 276.—
(g). Neutr. (anteclass. and poet.): hic specus horrendum, Verg. A. 7, 568; Serv. ad loc.: invisum caelo specus, Sil. 13, 425; Ps.-Quint. Decl. 10, 19.—
(d). Acc. to the second declension: speca apposita, Cato ap. Prisc. p. 713 P.: altis claudere specis, Att. ap. Non. 487, 25 (Fragm. Trag. v. 63 Rib.).—
II. Transf., a hollow, cavity of any kind (poet.): specus atri vulneris, Verg. A. 9, 700 Serv.: quos Capacis alvi mersit tartareo specu, Phaedr. 4, 6, 10; of a snake's belly, Sil. 6, 276; cf. of the belly of the Trojan horse, Petr. poët. 89, 2, 7.— In mal. part., Auct. Priap. 83, 34.

Origins

Usually viewed as a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *speḱ-, although De Vaan is doubtful of this etymology.

Quick answers

What does specus mean in Latin?
specus, a noun, means “cave, grotto; ditch, canal, drain; pit”.
What is the genitive of specus?
The genitive singular is specūs. specus is masculine, fourth declension.