LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

tīrō1

tīrō m (genitive tīrōnis)
Classical[ˈtiː.roː]Ecclesiastical[ˈtiː.ro]

Meaning

  1. Romanrecruit
  2. apprentice (one that is young in age)
  3. beginner, novice, tyro, neophyte, freshman, greenhorn

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativetīrō
tīrunculus		tīrōnēs
tīrunculī
genitivetīrōnis
tīrunculī		tīrōnum
tīrunculōrum
dativetīrōnī
tīrunculō		tīrōnibus
tīrunculīs
accusativetīrōnem
tīrunculum		tīrōnēs
tīrunculōs
ablativetīrōne
tīrunculō		tīrōnibus
tīrunculīs
vocativetīrō
tīruncule		tīrōnēs
tīrunculī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

tirones
recruits.
rudem, tironem ac rudem (opp. exercitatum) esse in dicendo
to be an inexperienced speaker.

tīro, ōnis, m.; in milit. lang.,
I. a newly-levied soldier, a young soldier, recruit.
I. Lit.: aetas tironum, Cic. Tusc. 2, 16, 38: legio tironum, Caes. B. C. 3, 28; 3, 29; 3, 34; Auct. B. Afr. 31, 7; Suet. Tib. 42; id. Ner. 19; id. Vit. 15.—Trop.: multaque tironi non patienda feret (opp. vetus miles), Ov. A. A. 3, 566.—Esp., in appos. like an adj.: tirones milites (opp. veterani), Cic. Phil. 11, 15, 39: miles, Auct. B. Afr. 16, 1: exercitus, Cic. Fam. 7, 3, 2; Liv. 21, 39, 3; 21, 43, 14.—
II. Transf., in gen., a beginner, tiro in any thing: nullā in re tiro ac rudis, Cic. de Or. 1, 50, 218: provinciae rudis et tiro, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 6, § 17: homo non aetate sed usu forensi atque exercitatione tiro, id. Div. in Caecil. 15, 47; id. Rosc. Am. 6, 17: in scholis exercitati, tirones in foro, Quint. 2, 10, 9: deductus in forum tiro, as a young man, after putting on the toga virilis, Suet. Ner. 7; Plin. 8, 48, 74, § 194; Ov. F. 3, 787: tirones gladiatorum, Suet. Caes. 26; for which, adject.: tirones gladiatores, Auct. B. Afr. 71, 1.—Of animals: ut tironem (bovem) cum veterano adjungant, Varr. R. R. 1, 20, 2.

Origins

Unknown. Ostler 2007 suggests a borrowing from an unattested Etruscan term; García-Hernández 2025 proposes a far-fetched derivation from Latin triō, with the original meaning of "young ox", that later changed into its primary meaning, "novice".

Descendants
  • Catalantiró
  • Englishtyro
  • Italiantirone
  • Hebrewטירון

In English words that came into English from tīrō

  • tyrotyro
  • tirociniumtirocinium
  • tyrocinytirocinium
  • tyronetīrō
proper noun · masculinethird declension
Tīrō2
Tīrō m sg (genitive Tīrōnis)
Classical[ˈtiː.roː]Ecclesiastical[ˈtiː.ro]

Meaning

  1. A masculine cognomen — famously held by
  2. Marcus Tullius Tiro (103–4 BC), freedman of and secretary to M. Tullius Cicero, and inventor of the Tironian notes

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeTīrō—
genitiveTīrōnis—
dativeTīrōnī—
accusativeTīrōnem—
ablativeTīrōne—
vocativeTīrō—

Tīro, ōnis, m.,
I. a Roman proper name. So esp., M. Tullius Tiro, the learned freedman of Cicero, Cic. Fam. 16, 10; id. Att. 6, 7, 2; 9, 17, 2 (to him are addressed the letters id. Fam. 16, 3-10; 16, 12-15); Gell. 7, 3, 8; 13, 9, 1 sq.—Hence, Tīrōnĭ-ānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Tiro: liber, Gell. 13, 20, 16: Tironiana cura, id. 1, 7, 1.

Origins

Probably use as a proper name of the common noun tīrō (“new recruit”, “novice”, “young man”).

Quick answers

What does tīrō mean in Latin?
tīrō, a noun, means “recruit; apprentice (one that is young in age); beginner, novice, tyro, neophyte, freshman, greenhorn”.
What is the genitive of tīrō?
The genitive singular is tīrōnis. tīrō is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce tīrō?
In classical Latin, [ˈtiː.roː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈtiː.ro].
Which English words come from tīrō?
English words that go back to Latin tīrō include tyrone, tyro, tirocinium and tyrociny.