LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefifth declension

spēs

spēs f (genitive speī)
Classical[ˈspeːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈspɛs]
№ 232 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. hope (belief or expectation that something wished for can or will happen)
    Dum anima est, spēs est.As long as there is life, there is hope.
    Ego spem pretiō nōn emō!I don’t buy hope at any price! (In other words, purchase nothing more than an expectation.)160 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Adelphoe 219
  2. rareexpectation, anticipation
    ab initio Faustulo spes fuerat regiam stirpem apud se educariFrom the beginning there was an expectation for Faustulus that he was bringing up the children of the royal blood27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.5
  3. rareapprehension

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

animus bona futūra exspectāns.
spēs -eī f — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Vereri · Timere · Metuere · Spes · Fiducia · Timor · Timiditas · Ignavia · Formido · Horror

1. Vereri (ὁρᾶν?) like αἰδεῖσθαι, has its foundation in what is strikingly venerable; metuere and timere, like δεῖσαι; and φοβεῖσθαι, in the threatening danger of an object. The timens and metuens fear the danger; the verens, the disgrace and shame. Cic. Phil. xii. 12. Quid? veteranos non veremur? nam timeri ne ipsi quidem volunt. Sen. 11, 37. Metuebant eum servi, verebantur liberi, carum omnes habebant. Liv. xxxix. 37. Veremur quidem vos Romani et si ita vultis etiam timemus. Afran. ap. Gell. xv. 13. Ubi malunt metui, quam vereri se ab suis. Senec. Ir. iii. 32. Quibusdam timeamus irasci, quibusdam vereamur. 2. Metus (ματᾶν) is fear, only as the anticipation of an impending evil, and reflection upon it, the apprehension that proceeds from foresight and prudence, like δέος, synonymously with cautio; whereas timor (from τρέμω), the fear that proceeds from cowardice and weakness. Or, metus is an intellectual notion; fear, as from reflection, in opp. to spes; for instances, see Cic. Verr. ii. 54. Off. ii. 6. Liv. xxx. 9. Suet. Aug. 25. Tac. H. i. 18. Ann. ii. 12, 38. Sen. Ep. 5. Suet. Aug. 5. Cels. ii. 6. Curt. viii. 6:—whereas timor is a moral notion, fear as a feeling, in opp. to fiducia, animus. Cic. Divin. ii. 31. Att. v. 20. Rull. i. 8. Sallust. Jug. ii. 3. Tac. Hist. ii. 80. Plin. Ep. v. 17. 3. In the like manner are spes, hope, and fiducia, confidence, distinguished. Sen. Ep. 16. Jam de te spem habeo, nondum fiduciam. Tac. Agr. 2. Nec spem modo ac votum securitas publica, sed ipsius voti fiduciam ac robur assumpserit. Suet. Cl. 10. Aliquanto minore spe quam fiducia. Liv. x. 25. Curt. ix. 4, 25. 4. Timor denotes fear, as a temporary state; timiditas, fearfulness, as an habitual quality, which is connected with ignavia, as a more precise expression for the more general feeling. Lactant. iii. 17. Epicurus . . . ignavum prohibet accedere ad rem publicam, pigrum exercere, timidum militare. Ignavia is inaptitude for any noble action, and particularly for deeds of valor; timiditas is, under certain circumstances, excusable; ignavia is absolutely blamable. 5. Metus and timor have their foundation in reflection, whereby a person is made clearly aware of the object and ground of his apprehension; whereas horror and formido is an immediate feeling, which overpowers the understanding by the dreadful image of the nearness of some horrid object, and can give no account of the ground of its fear; formido (fremere) expresses this state immediately as a state of mind, like ὀῤῥωδία; whereas horror (χέρσος) as the bodily expression of this state, by the hair standing on end, the eyes wildly staring, etc., like φρίκη. Tac. H. iv. 45. Metus per omnes ac præcipua Germanici militis formido. (ii. 190.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativespēsspēs
genitivespeīspērum
dativespeīspēbus
accusativespemspēs
ablativespēspēbus
vocativespēsspēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

spem alere
to entertain a hope.
spem habere
to cherish a hope.
spem perdere
to lose hope.
spes me frustratur
hope has played me false.
spem concipere animo
to conceive a hope.
spem proponere alicui
to lead some one to expect...
spem habere in aliquo
to set one's hope on some one.
spe duci, niti, teneri
to cherish a hope.
24 more phrases
spem abicere, deponere
to give up hoping.
spem alicuius confirmare
to strengthen a person in his hopes.
spes affulget (Liv. 27. 28)
a ray of hope shines on us.
spem falsam alicui ostendere
to rouse a vain, groundless hope in some one's mind.
spes extenuatur et evanescit
hope is vanishing by degrees.
praeter spem, exspectationem
contrary to expectation.
spe deici, depelli, deturbari
to lose hope.
inani, falsa spe duci, induci
to be misled by a vain hope.
spem alicui or alicuius minuere
to weaken, diminish a person's hope.
in spem venire, ingredi, adduci
to conceive a hope.
spem redintegrare (B. G. 7. 25)
to revive a hope.
adulescens bonae (egregiae) spei
a promising youth.
ad spem aliquem excitare, erigere
to awaken new hope in some one.
spem alicui facere, afferre, inicere
to inspire any one with hope.
spem suam ponere, collocare in aliquo
to set one's hope on some one.
spem praecīdere, incidere (Liv. 2. 15)
to cut off all hope.
spem alicuius fallere (Catil. 4. 11. 23)
to deceive a person's hope.
inter spem metumque suspensum animi esse
to hover between hope and fear.
spes ad irritum cadit, ad irritum redigitur
expectation is overthrown.
spem alicui adimere, tollere, auferre, eripere
to deprive a person of hope.
in maximam spem aliquem adducere (Att. 2. 22. 3)
to inspire some one with the most brilliant hopes.
magna me spes tenet (with Acc. c. Inf.) (Tusc. 1. 41. 97)
I have great hopes that...

spes, spēi (
I. gen. spe, Liv. 1, 40, 7 dub.; Weissenb. spei; plur. nom. and acc. speres, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 333 Müll., or Ann. v. 410 and 132 Vahl.; gen. sperum, Eum. Paneg. Const. 15; abl. speribus, Varr. ap. Non. 171, 27 and 30: spebus, Sid. Apollin. Ep. 3, 6; Sulp. Sev. Dial. 3, 10; Paul. Nol. Carm. 18, 243; Hilar. in Psa. 119; cf. Neue, Formenl. 1, 570), f. perh. root spa-, to draw out; Gr. σπάω; cf.: prosper, spondeo; v. spatium.
I. Lit.
A. In gen., the expectation of something desired, hope (the predom. signif. of the word; syn. exspectatio).
(a). Absol.: si spes est exspectatio boni, mali exspectationem esse necesse est metum, Cic. Tusc. 4, 37, 80: bona spes cum omnium rerum desperatione confligit, id. Cat. 2, 11, 25: ut aegroto, dum anima est, spes esse dicitur; sic, etc., id. Att. 9, 10, 3: nolite nimiam spem habere, Cat. ap. Gell. 13, 17, 1: spem habere in fide alicujus, Cic. Inv. 1, 39, 71; cf.: nostros tantum spei habere ad vivendum, quantum accepissent ab Antonio, id. Att. 15, 20, 2: miserum est nec habere ne spei quidem extremum, id. N. D. 3, 6, 14: in quīs plurimum habebat spei, Curt. 3, 3, 1: spem sibi aliquam proponere, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 16, § 41: spem reliquorum in vestrā potestate positam esse, id. Fl. 1, 3: spem ponere in armis, Verg. A. 2, 676: spem deponere, abandon, Hor. S. 2, 5, 26; but: spem salvis in alicujus morte deponere, to place, Curt. 10, 9, 7: spem alicujus alere, Cic. Cat. 1, 12, 30; cf.: auxerat meam spem, quod, etc., id. Phil. 12, 1, 2: aliquem in spem adducere, id. Att. 3, 19, 2: quae (salus nostra) spe exiguā extremāque pendet, id. Fl. 2, 4: ut eos homines spes falleret, id. Div. in Caecil. 2, 4: quantā de spe decidi, Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 9: hac spe lapsus Indutiomarus, Caes. B. G. 5, 55: nostris militibus spem minuit, id. ib. 5, 33: Helvetii eā spe dejecti, id. ib. 1, 8: ab hac spe repulsi Nervii, id. ib. 5, 42; cf.: de spe conatuque depulsus, Cic. Cat. 2, 7, 14: pro re certā spem falsam domum retulerunt, id. Rosc. Am. 38, 110: non solum spe, sed certā re jam et possessione deturbatus est, id. Fam. 12, 25, 2: spei nostrae finem inponere, Liv. 5, 4, 10: morando spem destituere, id. 1, 51, 5: dolor tantae ad inritum cadentis spei, id. 2, 6, 1: spes ad inritum redacta, id. 28, 31, 1: Philippus, magnā spe depulsus, id. 31, 25, 11: Tyrii ab ingenti spe destituti erant, Curt. 4, 3, 20: tantā spe destituti, id. 8, 6, 20: spem pro re ferentes, Liv. 36, 40, 7: hominem sine re, sine fide, sine spe, etc., Cic. Cael. 32, 78: sunt omnia, sicut adulescentis, non tam re et maturitate quam spe et exspectatione laudata, id. Or. 30, 107: ego jam aut rem aut ne spem quidem exspecto, id. Att. 3, 22, 4: nemo umquam animo aut spe majora suscipiet, qui, etc., id. Lael. 27, 102: multa praeter spem scio multis bona evenisse, Plaut. Rud. 2, 3, 69; so, praeter spem evenit! Ter. And. 2, 6, 5; 4, 1, 55; id. Heaut. 4, 1, 51: repente praeter spem dixit, etc., Cic. Fam. 4, 4, 3: cetera contra spem salva invenit, Liv. 9, 23, 17: omnia bona in spe habere, Sall. C. 31, 7.—Plur.: ubi sunt spes meae? Plaut. Curc. 2, 3, 28: si mihi mulierculae essent salvae, spes aliquae forent, id. Rud. 2, 6, 69; id. Capt. 2, 3, 85: in quo nostrae spes omnesque opes sitae Erant, Ter. Ad. 3, 2, 33; id. Phorm. 3, 1, 6; cf.: omnes Catilinae spes atque opes concidisse, Cic. Cat. 3, 7, 16; so often: spes opesque, Sall. J. 107, 4: (cadus) Spes donare novas largus, Hor. C. 4, 12, 19 al.—
(b). With gen. obj.: spem istoc pacto nuptiarum omnem eripis, Ter. Heaut. 4, 3, 35: spe mercedis adducti, Cic. Lael. 9, 31: spes dignitatis suae, id. de Or. 1, 7, 25: spes diuturnitatis atque imperii, id. Rep. 2, 3, 5: nec in praemiis humanis spem posueris rerum tuarum, id. ib. 6, 23, 25; cf. id. de Or. 1, 7, 25: quoniam me tui spem das, id. Rep. 1, 10, 15: ni mihi esset spes ostensa Hujusce habendae, Ter. Phorm. 5, 4, 7: spes amplificandae fortunae fractior, Cic. Lael. 16, 59: ut reo audaci spem judicii corrumpendi praeciderem, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 7, § 20: Antiochus a spe societatis Prusiae decidit, Liv. 37, 26, 1: hoc conloquium abstulit spem Hannibali recipiendae Nolae, id. 33, 44, 3: exulanti Amyandro spes recuperandi regni facta est, id. 38, 1, 3; Tac. Or. 14 fin.: spe templi capiendi, Liv. 31, 25, 2: spem suae mortis conceperat, Ov. M. 6, 554. —
(g). With obj.-clause: spes est, eum melius facturum, Plaut. Stich. 1, 1, 22; id. Ep. 3, 1, 11; Auct. Her. 2, 17, 25: magna me spes tenet, explicare, etc., Cic. Clu. 3, 7: in spem maximam adducti, hunc ipsum annum salutarem civitati fore, id. Mil. 28, 78: ne spes quidem ulla ostenditur, fore melius, id. Att. 11, 11, 1: magnam in spem veniebat, fore, uti, etc., Caes. B. G. 1, 42: magnam se habere spem, Ariovistum finem injuriis facturum, id. ib. 1, 33: injecta est spes patri, Posse illam extrudi, Ter. Phorm. 4, 4, 11: si qui vestrum spe ducitur, se posse, etc., Cic. Agr. 1, 9, 27: in spem venio, appropinquare tuum adventum, id. Fam. 9, 1, 1: magna me spes tenet, bene mihi evenire, quod mittar ad mortem, id. Tusc. 1, 41, 97: ad Aetolos legatum misit, magis ut nudaret animos, quam spe impetrari posse, Liv. 34, 24, 7: a spe scalis capi urbem posse, id. 6, 9, 9: spe castra eo die se oppugnaturos, id. 40, 31, 6.—
(d). With ut: quae te ratio in istam spem induxit, ut eos tibi fidelis putaris fore? Cic. Off. 2, 15, 53: si spem afferunt, ut ... fructus appareat, id. Lael. 19, 68: spes mihi certa fuit ut, etc., Aus. Idyll. 2, 46: irritā spe agitari, ut, etc., Tac. A. 16, 26.—(ε) With de: spes est de argento, Plaut. Most. 3, 1, 40; Cic. Lael. 3, 11: de flumine transeundo spem se fefellisse, Caes. B. G. 2, 10: quam spem tunc ille de me concepit, Plin. Ep. 1, 10, 3: nato filio pater spem de illo quam optimam capiat, Quint. 1, 1, 1.—(ζ) With ad and gerund.: postea vero quam vidi nostros tantum spei habere ad vivendum, Cic. Att. 15, 20, 2: spem habere ad ejus salutem exstinguendam, id. Mil. 2, 5: Gallis ad temptanda ea defuit spes, Liv. 21, 25, 10 Weissenb. ad loc.: cum spei ad resistendum nihil esset, id. 43, 18, 10; 43, 19, 9.—
2. In partic.
a. The hope of being appointed heir (rare): leniter in spem Arrepe officiosus, ut et scribare secundus Heres, Hor. S. 2, 5, 47: in spem secundam nepotes pronepotesque (assumebantur), Tac. A. 1, 8. —
b. Spes, a Roman divinity who had several temples in Rome, Plaut. Bacch. 4, 8, 52; id. Ps. 2, 4, 19; id. Cist. 4, 1, 18; Cic. Leg. 2, 11, 28; id. N. D. 2, 23, 61; 3, 18, 47; Liv. 2, 51, 2; 25, 7, 6; 40, 51, 6; Tac. A. 2, 49; Plin. 2, 7, 5, § 14; Tib. 1, 1, 9 (19); Ov. A. A. 1, 445; Aus. Idyll. 12, 9; cf. Hartung, Relig. d. Röm. 2, p. 264.—
B. Transf, concr., like the Engl. hope, of that in which hope is placed, or which is hoped for (poet. and in postAug. prose).
1. In gen.: puppes, Spes vestri reditus, Ov. M. 13, 94; cf.: vestras spes uritis, Verg. A. 5, 672: spes o fidissima Teucrum (of Aeneas), id. ib. 2, 281: spem suam (i. e. exta) circumvolat alis (milvus), Ov. M. 2, 719; cf.: spe (i. e. re speratā) potitur, id. ib. 11, 527.—
2. In partic., of hopeful children, and, by analogy, of the young of animals, or of the fruits of the earth: devovit nati spemque caputque parens, Ov. H. 3, 94 Ruhnk.; cf. also in plur., of one child: per spes surgentis Iuli, Verg. A. 6, 364; 10, 524; 4, 274; cf.: tuosne ego, o meae spes inanes, labentis oculis vidi, Quint. 6, prooem. § 12: (capella) gemellos, Spem gregis, silice in nudā connixa reliquit, Verg. E. 1, 15; cf. id. G. 4, 162: (sus) quia semina pando Eruerit rostro spemque interceperit anni, Ov. M. 15, 113.—
b. In gen., as a term of endearment, hope: spes mea, Plaut. Rud. 1, 4, 27: o spes mea, o mea vita, o mea voluptas, salve, id. Stich. 4, 2, 5: o salutis meae spes, id. Rud. 3, 3, 17: et mea carissima filiola, et spes reliqua nostra, Cicero, Cic. Fam. 14, 4, 6.—
II. An anticipation or apprehension of something not desired, ἐλπίς (very rare): si meam spem vis improborum fefellerit atque superaverit, Cic. Cat. 4, 11, 23: mala res, spes multo asperior, Sall. C. 20, 13: Metellus contra spem suam laetissimis animis excipitur, id. J. 88, 1: id (bellum) quidem spe omnium serius fuit, Liv. 2, 3, 1: omnium spe celerius, id. 21, 6, 5: in malā jam spe, id. 22, 48: in spe Hannibali fuit defectio Tarentinorum, id. 25, 7: dum spes nulla necis, Stat. Th. 9, 129; cf.: naufragii spes omnis abit, Luc. 5, 455.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *spēs, from Proto-Indo-European *spéh₁s (“prosperity”), from *speh₁- (“to succeed, prosper”).

Italo-Romance
  • Italianspene
  • Italianspeme
Elsewhere
  • Germanin spe
  • Danishin spe
  • Dutchin spe
  • Norwegianin spe
  • Polishin spe
  • Swedishin spe

Quick answers

What does spēs mean in Latin?
spēs, a noun, means “hope (belief or expectation that something wished for can or will happen); expectation, anticipation; apprehension”.
What is the genitive of spēs?
The genitive singular is speī. spēs is feminine, fifth declension.
How do you pronounce spēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈspeːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈspɛs].