LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

tenuitās

tenuitās f (genitive tenuitātis)

Meaning

  1. thinness, fineness, delicateness
  2. poverty
  3. frugality

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativetenuitāstenuitātēs
genitivetenuitātistenuitātum
dativetenuitātītenuitātibus
accusativetenuitātemtenuitātēs
ablativetenuitātetenuitātibus
vocativetenuitāstenuitātēs

tĕnŭĭtas, ātis. f. tenuis,
I. thinness, slenderness, fineness, smallness, tenuity (class.).
I. Lit.: casurusne in conspectum videatur animus, an tanta sit ejus tenuitas, ut fugiat aciem, Cic. Tusc. 1, 22, 50: valetudo modo bona sit, tenuitas ipsa delectat, slimness, id. Brut. 16, 64: crurum, Phaedr. 1, 12, 6: aëris, rarity (with siccitas), Sen. Q. N. 2, 10, 1: lini, Plin. 19, 1, 2, § 9: chartae, id. 13, 12, 24, § 79: capillamenti, id. 11, 37, 65, § 171: liniam duxit summae tenuitatis per tabulam, id. 35, 10, 36, § 81: caudae, id. 8, 33, 51, § 121: cribri, id. 18, 11, 27, § 105: aquae, thinness, clearness, purity, id. 31, 3, 23, § 38; cf. sanguinis, id. 11, 39, 92, § 226 et saep.—
B. Transf. (acc. to tenuis, I. B.), smallness, insignificance, poverty, indigence, scarcity: Magii, Cic. de Or. 2, 66, 265: alicujus, Cic. Fil. Fam. 16, 21, 4; Caes. B. G. 7, 17: aerarii, Cic. Off. 2, 21, 74: earum rerum, quas terra procreet, vel ubertatem vel tenuitatem, id. Div. 2, 13, 30.—
II. Trop., fineness, acuteness, minuteness in language: limata tenuitas et rerum et verborum, Cic. Fin. 3, 12, 40; id. Opt. Gen. Or. 3, 9: (dialectica) sectas ad tenuitatem suam vires ipsā subtilitate consumet, Quint. 12, 2, 13; 12, 10, 35; 10, 2, 23: discriminum ac differentiarum tenuitates, fine shades, Gell. 1, 3, 29.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ténh₂us
  2. Proto-Italic*tən(a)us
  3. Latintenuitās

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin tenuitās From tenuis + -tās.

Descendants
  • Catalantenuïtat
  • Frenchténuité
  • Italiantenuità
  • Portuguesetenuidade
  • Spanishtenuidad
  • Galiciantenuidade

In English words that came into English from tenuitās

  • tenuitytenuitās

Quick answers

What does tenuitās mean in Latin?
tenuitās, a noun, means “thinness, fineness, delicateness; poverty; frugality”.
What is the genitive of tenuitās?
The genitive singular is tenuitātis. tenuitās is feminine, third declension.
Where does tenuitās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us → Proto-Italic *tən(a)us → Latin tenuitās.