LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
verbthird conjugation

struō

struō (present infinitive struere, perfect active strūxī, supine strūctum)
Classical[ˈstru.oː]Ecclesiastical[ˈstruː.o]

Meaning

  1. to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together
  2. to compose, construct, build
  3. to ready, prepare, devise, design, contrive, arrange, plot, aim at, accomplish, to make or do a plan, purpose, intent, or course of action
    Quid struis? Aut quā spē Libycīs teris ōtia terrīs?“What do you think you are doing? Or with what [false] hope are you wasting idle hours in the lands of Libya?” (Aeneas is overseeing building projects in Carthage just as Mercury arrives to confront him; Mercury’s criticism, however, is less about the physical construction than it is about self-deception. Other translations: West, 1990: “What do you have in mind?”; Fagles, 2006: “What are you plotting now?”; Bartsch, 2020: “What’s your plan?”)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.271
  4. to place, arrange
  5. to heap up, load with

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Acervus · Congeries · Strues · Cumulus

1. Acervus and congeries mean ‘heaps’ of homogeneous things collected and piled up in layers; acervus [from ἀγείρω], like σωρός, with arrangement, and mostly in a conical shape, but congeries, negligently, and altogether without regard to shape; strues denotes that something new is produced, and a determinate form given, serving a particular purpose; like θημών. Curt. viii. 7. 11. Passim acervos struesque accendebant; meaning by acervos ‘heaps’ or ‘piles,’ by strues ‘stacks’ of wood. 2. Cumulus (from ἀκμή) means strictly, not the heap itself, but the top, by which the heap is completed as a whole, like the key-stone, by which any thing first reaches its proper and complete height, almost like κορυφή; and it has this meaning particularly in cumulare, which is like κορυφοῦν. Compare Liv. xxii. 59. Superstantes cumulis cæsorum corporum, with Cannenses campos acervi Romanorum corporum tegunt: and xxiii. 5. Molibus ex humanorum corporum strue faciendis. (ii. 118.)

Conjugation conjugation 3

active indicative
formpresentimperfectfutureperfectpluperfectfut. perfect
1st sg.struōstruēbamstruamstrūxīstrūxeramstrūxerō
2nd sg.struisstruēbāsstruēsstrūxistīstrūxerāsstrūxeris
3rd sg.struitstruēbatstruetstrūxitstrūxeratstrūxerit
1st pl.struimusstruēbāmusstruēmusstrūximusstrūxerāmusstrūxerimus
2nd pl.struitisstruēbātisstruētisstrūxistisstrūxerātisstrūxeritis
3rd pl.struuntstruēbantstruentstrūxērunt
strūxēre		strūxerantstrūxerint
active subjunctive
active subjunctive
formpresentimperfectperfectpluperfect
1st sg.struamstrueremstrūxerimstrūxissem
2nd sg.struāsstruerēsstrūxerīsstrūxissēs
3rd sg.struatstrueretstrūxeritstrūxisset
1st pl.struāmusstruerēmusstrūxerīmusstrūxissēmus
2nd pl.struātisstruerētisstrūxerītisstrūxissētis
3rd pl.struantstruerentstrūxerintstrūxissent
passive indicative
passive indicative
formpresentimperfectfuture
1st sg.struorstruēbarstruar
2nd sg.strueris
struere		struēbāris
struēbāre		struēris
struēre
3rd sg.struiturstruēbāturstruētur
1st pl.struimurstruēbāmurstruēmur
2nd pl.struiminīstruēbāminīstruēminī
3rd pl.struunturstruēbanturstruentur
passive subjunctive
passive subjunctive
formpresentimperfect
1st sg.struarstruerer
2nd sg.struāris
struāre		struerēris
struerēre
3rd sg.struāturstruerētur
1st pl.struāmurstruerēmur
2nd pl.struāminīstruerēminī
3rd pl.struanturstruerentur
imperative
imperative
formactivepassive
pres. 2nd sg.struestruere
pres. 2nd pl.struitestruiminī
fut. 2nd sg.struitōstruitor
fut. 3rd sg.struitōstruitor
fut. 2nd pl.struitōte—
fut. 3rd pl.struuntōstruuntor
infinitives & participles
infinitives & participles
formactivepassive
present infinitivestruerestruī
perfect infinitivestrūxissestrūctum esse
future infinitivestrūctūrum essestrūctum īrī
present participlestruēns—
perfect participle—strūctus
strūcta, strūctā, strūctae, strūctam, strūctārum, strūctās, strūcte, strūctī, strūctīs, strūctō, strūctōrum, strūctōs
future participlestrūctūrus
strūctūra, strūctūrā, strūctūrae, strūctūram, strūctūrārum, strūctūrās, strūctūre, strūctūrī, strūctūrīs, strūctūrō, strūctūrōrum, strūctūrōs, strūctūrum		struendus
struenda, struendā, struendae, struendam, struendārum, struendās, struende, struendīs, struendōrum, struendōs
gerundstruendī, struendō, struendumsupinestrūctum, strūctū

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

compositio, structura verborum
the structure of the sentence.
constructio, structura verborum, forma dicendi
the construction.
insidias alicui parare, facere, struere, instruere, tendere
to waylay a person.

strŭo, xi, ctum, 3, v. a. root στορ; Gr. στρώννυμι, to spread; cf. Sanscr. upa-star, to make ready; and v. sterno,
I. to place by or upon each other; to pile up, arrange, etc.
I. Lit.
A. In gen. (rare but class.; cf. condo, compono): quasi structa et nexa verbis, etc., Cic. Or. 41, 140: lateres, qui super musculo struantur, Caes. B. C. 2, 10: altaque congestos struxisse ad sidera montes, Ov. M. 1, 153: arbores in pyram, id. ib. 9, 231: frugem ordine, Cic. Sen. 15, 51: avenas, Ov. M. 1, 677: ordine longo penum, Verg. A. 1, 704; Sil. 11, 279; hence, poet., transf.: altaria donis, Verg. A. 5, 54: acervum, Hor. S. 1, 1, 35: congeriem armorum, Tac. A. 2, 22: opes, rem, to heap up, accumulate, Petr. 120, 85; Pers. 2, 44: PEDEM, to heap up steps, i. e. to flee: SI CALVITVR PEDEMVE STRVIT MANVM ENDOIACITO, Fragm. XII. Tab. ap. Fest. 313 Müll.—Absol.: aliae (apes) struunt, aliae poliunt, aliae suggerunt, pile up (the comb), Plin. 11, 10, 10, § 22. —
B. In partic.
1. To make by joining together; to build, erect, fabricate, make, form, construct (syn. aedifico): fornacem bene struito ... lateribus summam (fornacem) struito, Cato, R. R. 38, 1 and 3: per speluncas saxis structas, Poët. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 16, 37 (Trag. Rel. p. 208 Rib.); imitated by Lucr. 6, 195; cf.: templa saxo structa vetusto, Verg. A. 3, 84: moenia saxo, Ov. M. 6, 573: moenia, Verg. A. 5, 811: domos, Hor. C. 2, 18, 19: pyras, Verg. A. 11, 204: ingentem pyram, id. ib. 6, 215; Luc. 3, 240: navem, Val. Fl. 5, 295: tubas, to make, Prop. 4 (5), 3, 20. cubilia, Luc. 9, 841: convivia, to get ready, prepare, Tac. A. 15, 37 et saep.— Absol.: reticulata structura, quā frequentissime Romae struunt, Plin. 36, 22, 51, § 172. —Part. perf., subst.: saxorum structa, masonry, Lucr. 4, 361.—
2. With the idea of order predominating, to set in order, arrange: copias ante frontem castrorum struit, arranges, draws up in rank and file, Caes. B. C. 3, 37; so, aciem, Liv. 9, 31; 8, 8; Verg. A. 9, 42: omnes armatos in campo, Liv 42, 51.—
II. Trop.
A. In gen., to join together, compound, compose: ex praepositione et duobus vocabulis dure videtur struxisse Pacuvius, Nerei repandirostrum, Quint. 1, 5, 67.—
B. In partic.
1. To prepare something detrimental; to cause, occasion; to devise, contrive, instigate, etc. (very freq., esp. in Cic.): struunt sorores Atticae dirum nefas, Poët. ap. Mar. Vict. p. 2596 P. (Trag. Rel. p. 272 Rib.): aliquid calamitatis struere et moliri, Cic. Clu. 64, 178: sycophantias, Plaut. As. 1, 1, 57: num me fefellit hosce id struere? Ter. Heaut. 3, 2, 3: sollicitudinem sibi, Cic. Att. 5, 21, 3: odium in alios, id. de Or. 2, 51, 208: insidias alicui, Liv. 23, 17: consilia recuperandi regni, id. 2, 3; Tac. A. 2, 65 fin.; Ov. M. 1, 198: periculum ruinae, Caecin. ap. Cic. Fam. 6, 7, 3: pericula alicui, Sen. Ep. 10, 2: mortem alicui, Tac. A. 4, 10 fin.: crimina et accusatores, id. ib. 11, 12; cf.: ultroque struebantur qui monerent perfugere ad Germaniae exercilus, id. ib. 4, 67: controversiam de nomine, Auct. Her. 2, 28, 45: causas, Tac. A. 2, 42: quid struit? Verg. A. 4, 235: quid struis? id. ib. 4, 271; Hor. Ep. 1, 3, 6.—
2. To order, arrange, dispose, regulate: rem domi, Plaut. Aul. 3, 6, 8: verba, Cic. de Or. 3, 43, 171: bene structa collocatio, id. Or. 70, 232: orationem, Quint. 7, 10, 7: orationem solutam, Prob. ap. Gell. 13, 20, 1: dum proxima dicimus, struere ulteriora possimus, Quint. 10, 7, 8: quid parum structum (in oratione), Sen. Ep. 100, 5: cum varios struerem per saecula reges, ordained, Val. Fl. 1, 535.—
3. To fit out, provide with (late Lat.): quot steriles utriusque naturae infructuosis genitalibus structi, Tert. Res. Carn. 61: sermo autem spiritu structus est, id. adv. Prax. 8; id. Verg. Vel. 9.—Hence, structē, adv., orderly, regularly, methodically (very rare): historiam scripsere Sallustius structe, Pictor incondite, Front. Ep. ad Ver. 1: quae nobis causa est structius prodeundi? with more embellishment, more ornately, Tert. Cult. Fem. 11.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ster-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sterh₃-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*strew-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*stréweti
  5. Proto-Italic*strowō
  6. Latinstruō

From Proto-Italic *strowō, from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to strew, to spread out”). The stems of strūxī and strūctum (for the expected *strōvī and *strūtum) must be analogical on the model of fluō. Cognate with Old English strewian (English strew), Old Norse strá.

Descendants
  • Italianstruere
  • Welshystrywfrom Middle Welsh ystryw

Quick answers

What does struō mean in Latin?
struō, a verb, means “to place one thing on top of another, to pile up, join together; to compose, construct, build; to ready, prepare, devise, design, contrive, arrange, plot, aim at, accomplish, to make or do a plan, purpose, intent, or cou”.
What are the principal parts of struō?
struō, struere, strūxī, strūctum (third conjugation).
How do you pronounce struō?
In classical Latin, [ˈstru.oː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈstruː.o].
Where does struō come from?
Proto-Indo-European *ster- → Proto-Indo-European *sterh₃- → Proto-Indo-European *strew- → Proto-Indo-European *stréweti → Proto-Italic *strowō → Latin struō.