LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adverb

sūrsum

sūrsum (not comparable)
Classical[ˈsuːr.sũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈsur.sum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. not comparableupwards
    corpus omne habet proprium motum, ut ignis sursum, terra deorsum.Any given body has a movement of its own, such as fire upwards, earth downwards.early 6th c., Boethius, Contra Eutychen et Nestorium 1
  2. not comparablerareabove, high up
    nares, quod omnis odor ad supera fertur, recte sursum suntThe nose is rightly placed high up since every smell carries itself upwards45 BCE, Cicero, De natura deorum 2.56.151

sursum (collat. form sursus, Lucr. 2, 188: susum, Cato, R. R. 157, 15; Aug. Tract. 8, Ep. 1, Joan. 2; Tract. 10, 5; Lact. Mort. Pers. 19, 4:
I. SVRVORSVM, Inscr. Grut. 204), adv. contr. from sub-vorsum, from below, i. e. up, upwards, on high (opp. deorsum; class. and very freq.).
I. Denoting motion: cum ex alto puteo sursum ad summum escenderis, Plaut. Mil. 4, 4, 14: ascendere in tectum, id. Am. 3, 4, 25: illuc, id. ib. 3, 4, 17: quid nunc supina sursum in caelum conspicis? id. Cist. 2, 3, 78: subducere susum animam, Cato, R. R. 157, 15; cf. infra, II.: flammae expressae sursum (opp. deorsum ferri), Lucr. 2, 204: adspicit nil sursum, Mart. 1, 97, 11: sursum ac deorsum diducere, Tubero ap. Gell. 7 ($3), 4, 3; Quint. 11, 3, 105.—
b. Pleon. joined with versus (versum, vorsum), Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 123: vineam sursum vorsum semper ducito, Cato, R. R. 33, 1; 32, 1: sursus enim vorsus gignuntur et augmina sumunt: Et sursum nitidae fruges arbustaque crescunt, Lucr. 2, 189: cum gradatim sursum versus reditur, Cic. Or. 39, 135; so, sursum versus, id. Part. Or. 7, 24; Lact. 3, 24, 1; Gell. 2, 1, 2; Varr. R. R. 1, 32 fin.—
c. Sursum deorsum, up and down, to and fro: sursum deorsum ultro citroque commeantibus, Cic. N. D. 2, 33, 84: ne sursum deorsum cursites, Ter. Eun. 2, 2, 47.—Prov.: omnia ista sursum deorsum fortuna versavit, topsy-turvy, Sen. Ep. 44, 4; cf.: quod sursum est, deorsum faciunt, i. e. they turn every thing upside down, Petr. 65 fin.—
II. Denoting situation or locality, high up, above (very rare): qui colunt deorsum, magis aestate laborant; qui sursum, magis hieme ... nec non sursum quam deorsum tardius seruntur ac metuntur, Varr. R. R. 1, 6, 3: praeterito hac rectā plateā sursum, Ter. Ad. 4, 2, 35: nares, quod omnis odor ad supera fertur, recte sursum sunt, Cic. N. D. 2, 56, 141.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*upó
  2. Proto-Italic*supo
  3. Latinsūrsum

Latin sub- Latin vorsum Latin sūrsum From sub- + vorsum.

Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiansuso
  • Italiansu
  • Dalmatiansois
  • Neapolitansuso
  • Siciliansusu
  • Venetansuxo
Gallo-Romance
  • Occitansus
  • Frenchsusfrom Old French sus
  • Old Catalansus
  • Normansusfrom Old French sus
Insular Romance
  • Sardiniansusu
Balkano-Romance
  • Romaniansus
  • Aromaniansus
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friuliansù
Ibero-Romance
  • Old Galician-Portuguesesuso
  • Old Spanishsuso

In English words that came into English from sūrsum

  • suzerainsūrsum

Quick answers

What does sūrsum mean in Latin?
sūrsum, a adverb, means “upwards; above, high up”.
How do you pronounce sūrsum?
In classical Latin, [ˈsuːr.sũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈsur.sum].
Where does sūrsum come from?
Proto-Indo-European *upó → Proto-Italic *supo → Latin sūrsum.