LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

superbus1

superbus (feminine superba, neuter superbum, comparative superbior, superlative superbissimus, adverb superbē or superbiter)
Classical[sʊˈpɛr.bʊs]Ecclesiastical[suˈpɛr.bus]
№ 656 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. adjectiveproud, rude, supercilious, arrogant, haughty, uncivil, insolent, discourteous
    Quis mē autem, fac velle, sinet, ratibusve superbīs / invīsam accipiet? [...].“Moreover, who will let me [rejoin the Trojans], supposing I want it? Or if I arrive at [their] haughty ships will I [even] be received? ….”29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.540–541
  2. adjectiveproud, superior, superb, excellent, distinguished; splendid, magnificent

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

quī sē maiōrem cēterīs putat; superbōs nēmō amat.
superbus -a -um — in Mille Verba, Animus et Adfectūs
proud
superbus -a -um — in Viri Romae Facillimi, ch. 3, 7, 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24, 26
haughty
superbus — in Seneca, ch. XIX

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Superbia · Arrogantia · Fastus · Insolentia

Superbia, from self-sufficiency, thinks others beneath itself, and considers them only as to the inferiority of their endowments; pride, in opp. to humility, arrogantia would make others, who owe it no homage, sensible of its endowments or privileges, in opp. to modesty; fastus (from σπαθᾶν?) pushes men from itself, as unworthy to stand in connection with it, as a presumptuous, in opp. to a sober, unassuming disposition; insolentia (from salire, insilire,) misemploys its superiority, in a rude manner, to the humiliation of the weaker, as insolence, in opp. to humanity and magnanimity. The superbus would outshine others, the arrogans would encroach upon them; the fastosus despises them; the insolens insults them. (iv. 187.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesuperbussuperbasuperbum
genitivesuperbīsuperbaesuperbī
dativesuperbōsuperbaesuperbō
accusativesuperbumsuperbamsuperbum
ablativesuperbōsuperbāsuperbō
vocativesuperbesuperbasuperbum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativesuperbīsuperbaesuperba
genitivesuperbōrumsuperbārumsuperbōrum
dativesuperbīssuperbīssuperbīs
accusativesuperbōssuperbāssuperba
ablativesuperbīssuperbīssuperbīs
vocativesuperbīsuperbaesuperba

sŭperbus, a, um, adj. super; cf. Gr. ὑπέρβιος.
I. In a bad sense, that thinks himself above others, haughty, proud, arrogant, insolent, discourteous, uncivil, rude, supercilious, domineering (cf.: arrogans, insolens, fastidiosus, vanus, elatus): reges odisse superbos, Poët. ap. Cic. Att. 6, 3, 7: reges, Lucr. 5, 1222: domini, id. 2, 1091; Verg. A. 12, 236: juvenis, id. ib. 3, 326; 10, 514: victor, id. G. 3, 226: non decet superbum esse hominem servom, Plaut. As. 2, 4, 64: freti virtute et viribus superbi, id. Am. 1, 1, 58: superbum se praebuit in fortunā, Cic. Att. 8, 4, 1: vide ne superbi (animi) sit aspernari ejusdem liberalitatem, id. Fam. 4, 9, 4: atque meo nunc Superbus incedis malo, Hor. Epod. 15, 18: licet superbus ambules pecuniā, id. ib. 4, 5: opibus superbi, Verg. A. 5, 268: utrum superbiorem te pecunia facit, an quod te imperator consulit, Cic. Fam. 7, 13, 1: laudato pavone superbior, Ov. M. 13, 802: homines superbissimi, Sall. J. 31, 12; Auct. B. Afr. 57, 6: eum, qui de suā unius sententiā omnia gerat, superbum judico magis quam sapientem, Liv. 44, 22, 11: non respondere vereor, ne superbum sit, id. 42, 40, 2.—In a pun on the literal meaning of super: Merc. Faciam ego te superbum, nisi hinc abis. So. Quonam modo? Merc. Auferere, non abibis, si ego fustem sumpsero, I will make you, i. e. one who rides or is carried, rather than walks, Plaut. Am. 1, 1, 201.—
b. Transf., of things concr. or abstr.: aures, Liv. 34, 5, 13: oculi, Ov. M. 6, 169: arces, Hor. Epod. 7, 5: postisque superbos Unguit amaracino, Lucr. 4, 1179: sceptra, id. 5, 1137: voces, id. 5, 1173: dens, delicate, fastidious, squeamish, Hor. S. 2, 6, 87: corpus, id. ib. 2, 2, 109: inguen, id. Epod. 8, 19: manus, Sen. Med. 205: vultus, id. Herc. Fur. 721: non est inhumana virtus neque immanis neque superba, Cic. Lael. 14, 50: victoria, quae naturā insolens et superba est, id. Marcell. 3, 9: pax, Liv. 9, 12, 1: jura, id. 31, 29, 9; cf.: superbissima lex, id. 4, 4, 10: mutatio vestis, id. 9, 18, 4: vita, Prop. 3, 11 (4, 10), 48: aures quarum est judicium superbissimum, i. e. very severe, utterly impartial, Cic. Or. 44, 150: scilicet aspera mea natura, difficilis aditus, superba responsa, uncivil, arrogant, id. Vatin. 3, 8: cujus tu superbissima decreta et preces repudiasti, id. Pis. 27, 64: ipsum dicendi genus nihil superbum, nihil elatum saltem ac sublime desideret, Quint. 6, 2, 19; cf. id. 11, 1, 37.—With foll. inf., Sil. 3, 374; 12, 433; 14, 646.— Neutr. absol.: reliqua multo major multitudo neque excluderetur suffragiis, ne superbum esset, nec valeret nimis, ne esset periculosum, Cic. Rep. 2, 22, 39: superba loqui, Prop. 1, 10, 22.—Superbum est, with a subject-clause, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 20, § 45; Ov. M. 13, 17.—
B. Sŭperbus, i, m., surname of the younger Tarquin, the last king of Rome, Cic. Rep. 2, 15, 28; id. Tusc. 1, 16, 38; Liv. 1, 49, 1; Ov. F. 2, 718 al.; cf. Cic. Rep. 1, 37, 58.—
II. In a good sense, proud, superior, excellent, distinguished; splendid, magnificent, superb (poet. and in post-Aug. prose): quae (virtus) inter hanc fortunam et illam superba incedit cum magno utriusque contemptu, Sen. Ep. 76, 21: populum late regem belloque superbum, Verg. A. 1, 21: animae virtute et factis, Sil. 10, 573: triumphus, Hor. C. 1, 35, 3; 1, 37, 31: merum, id. ib. 2, 14, 27; cf.: limina civium potentiorum, id. Epod. 2, 7: postes, id. C. 4, 15, 7: Tibur, Verg. A. 7, 630: Phoebe superbe lyrā, Tib. 4, 2, 22: sedes Dolopum, Verg. A. 2, 785; Cat. 64, 85: domus, Sen. Herc. Oet. 509: dapes, Mart. 3, 45, 3.—
B. In partic.
1. Superba pira, an excellent kind of pear, perh. the muscatel, Col. 5, 10, 18; Plin. 15, 15, 16, § 54; cf. superbia, II. B.—
2. Olivae, of a very large and plump kind, Plin. 15, 3, 4, § 17.—
3. Herba = chamaemeli, App. Herb. 23.—Hence, adv. (acc. to I.), haughtily, proudly, superciliously.
(a). Form sŭ-perbē, Plaut. Merc. 5, 4, 38; Ter. Phorm. 5, 7 (8), 22; Lucr. 5, 1224: imperare, Caes. B. G. 1, 31 (with crudeliter); Liv. 2, 45, 6 (with insolenter); 37, 10, 2 (with contemptim); 24, 25, 8 (opp. humiliter); 9, 14; 10, 10: Rhodii, superbe commemoratis meritis suis, etc., id. 44, 14, 8.—
(b). Form sŭperbĭter (anteclass.), Naev. and Afran. ap. Non. 515, 10 sq.; 516, 1; Enn. ap. Prisc. p. 1010 P. (Enn. p. 180, 40 Vahl.).—
b. Comp.: superbius, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 5, 11: preces alicujus superbius accipere, Tac. A. 2, 37.—
c. Sup.: superbissime, Cic. Pis. 27, 64.

Origins

Inherited from Proto-Italic *superiðos; equivalent to super (“above”) + -idus.

Descendants
  • Catalansoberg
  • Catalansuperb
  • Englishsuperb
  • Frenchsuperbe
  • Germansuperb
  • Italiansuperbo
  • Occitansupèrb
  • Portuguesesoberbo
  • Romaniansuperb
  • Spanishsoberbio
proper noun · masculinesecond declension
Superbus2
Superbus m sg (genitive Superbī)
Classical[sʊˈpɛr.bʊs]Ecclesiastical[suˈpɛr.bus]

Meaning

  1. masculinesingularthe cognomen of the younger Tarquin, the last king of Rome

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeSuperbus—
genitiveSuperbī—
dativeSuperbō—
accusativeSuperbum—
ablativeSuperbō—
vocativeSuperbe—

Origins

From superbus (“proud”).

Quick answers

What does superbus mean in Latin?
superbus, a adjective, means “proud, rude, supercilious, arrogant, haughty, uncivil, insolent, discourteous; proud, superior, superb, excellent, distinguished; splendid, magnificent”.
How do you pronounce superbus?
In classical Latin, [sʊˈpɛr.bʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [suˈpɛr.bus].