noun · masculinefourth declension
tractus
tractus m (genitive tractūs)
Meaning
- abstractmasculinea drawing, dragging, hauling, pulling
- concretemasculinea stretch, tract of land, region
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
regiō, spatium terraetrāctus -ūs (m) — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 13
longum spatium mōtūstractus -ūs (m) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 5
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | tractus | tractūs |
| genitive | tractūs | tractuum |
| dative | tractuī | tractibus |
| accusative | tractum | tractūs |
| ablative | tractū | tractibus |
| vocative | tractus | tractūs |
tractus, a, um, Part. and P. a. of traho.
tractus, ūs, m. traho,
I. a drawing, dragging, hauling, pulling, drawing out, trailing.
I. Lit. (mostly poet.):
tractu gementem Ferre rotam, Verg. G. 3, 183: tractu taurea terga domant, Val. Fl. 6, 359: modicus tractus (al. tractatus), Plin. 9, 46, 70, § 153: aut si qua incerto fallet te littera tractu, stroke, Prop. 4 (5), 3, 5. continuus subitarum tractus aquarum, i. e. a drinking, Luc. 4, 368; cf.: aëra pestiferum tractu, i.e. a drawing in, inhalation, id. 7, 412: repetitaque longo Vellera mollibat nebulis aequantia tractu, Ov. M. 6, 21: harenam fluctus trahunt ... Syrtes ab tractu nominatae, i. e. from Gr. σύρω, = traho; because of this drawing, Sall. J. 78, 3: (risus) interdum quodam etiam corporis tractu lacessitur, i. e. movement, Quint. 6, 3, 7.—Of a serpent, a drawing itself along, a creeping, crawling: squameus in spiram tractu se colligit anguis, Verg. G. 2, 154; Ov. M. 15, 725; Claud. B. Get. 22; id. II. Cons. Stil. 172.— 2. Concr., a train, track, course:
nonne vides longos flammarum ducere tractus, long trains, Lucr. 2, 207: flammarum, Verg. G. 1, 367; Luc. 2, 270: (Phaëthon) longo per aëra tractu Fertur, in a long train (of fire), Ov. M. 2, 320: longo per multa volumina tractu Aestuat unda minax, Luc. 5, 565; so of the course of the moon, Cic. Div. 2, 46, 97; of the Nile, Luc. 10, 257: (Cydnus) leni tractu e fontibus labens puro solo excipitur, Curt. 3, 4, 8: aquarum, id. 5, 3, 2: ut arborum tractu equitatus hostium impediretur, Nep. Milt. 5, 3; of the wind, Val. Fl. 1, 614; cf. Manil. 1, 532; 3, 366. — B. Transf., a space drawn out, i. e. a stretch, extent, tract of a thing (class.):
castrorum, Liv. 3, 28, 1: cujus (urbis) is est tractus ductusque muri, ut, etc., Cic. Rep. 2, 6, 11 Moser N. cr.: cum mediae jaceant immensis tractibus Alpes, Luc. 2, 630; and Claud. Rapt. Pros. 3, 9. — 2. Concr., of places, a territory, district, region, tract of land (class.;
syn.: regio, plaga): oppidi, Caes. B. C. 3, 112: corruptus caeli tractus, Verg. A. 3, 138 Serv.: tractus ille celeberrimus Venafranus, Cic. Planc. 9, 22: tractus uter plures lepores, uter educet apros, Hor. Ep. 1, 15, 22: tractu surgens oleaster eodem, Verg. G. 2, 182: genera (vitium) separari ac singulis conseri tractibus, utilissimum, Plin. 17, 22, 35, § 187; Flor. 1, 15, 2.—II. Trop.
A. In gen., course, progress, movement:
tractus orationis lenis et aequabilis, course, movement, current, Cic. de Or. 2, 13, 54; cf.: in omni corpore, totoque, ut ita dixerim, tractu (orationis), Quint. 9, 4, 61: cetera continuo magis orationis tractu decurrunt, id. 5, 8, 2.—2. Of time, space, lapse, period:
quod neque clara suo percurrere fulmina cursu Perpetuo possint aevi labentia tractu, Lucr. 1, 1004; 5, 1216: eodem tractu temporum nituerunt oratores, etc., Vell. 2, 9, 1: aetatis, Val. Max. 8, 13, ext. 2: hoc legatum Cum voluerit, tractum habet, quamdiu vivat is, a quo, etc., duration, period, Dig. 32, 1, 11. — B. In partic., a drawing out, protracting, lengthening, protraction, extension, length:
quanta haesitatio tractusque verborum! drawling, Cic. de Or. 2, 50, 202: pares elocutionum, Quint. 4, 2, 118: illa (historia) tractu et suavitate atque etiam dulcedine placet, extent, copiousness, Plin. Ep. 5, 8, 10.—3. In gram.:
in tractu et declinatione talia sunt, qualia apud Ciceronem beatitas et beatitudo, a lengthening in derivation, Quint. 8, 3, 32 Spald.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tractus adj.
P. of traho.—Of style, continuous, flowing, fluent : genus orationis.
tractus ūs, m
TRAG-, a drawing, dragging, hauling, pulling, drawing out, trailing : tractu Ferre rotam, V.: longo Vellera mollibat tractu, O.: Syrtes ab tractu nominatae (i. e. from Gr. σύρω), S.: Squameus in spiram tractu se conligit anguis, V.— A train, track, course : Flammarum, V.: (Phaëthon) longo per aëra tractu Fertur, in a long train (of fire), O.: (Cydnus) leni tractu e fontibus labens puro solo excipitur, Cu.: ut arborum tractu equitatus hostium impediretur, N.— A stretch, extent : castrorum, L.: cuius (urbis) is est tractus ductusque muri, ut, etc.— A territory, district, region, tract of land : oppidi, Cs.: Conruptus caeli, V.: Venafranus: Tractus uter plures lepores, uter educet apros, H.—Fig., course, progress, movement : tractus orationis lenis.— A drawing out, lengthening, drawling : verborum.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*dʰregʰ-der.?
- Latintractus
Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin tractus From trahō + -tus (forming action nouns).
Descendants
- Catalantret
- Frenchtraitfrom Old French traiz
- Englishtraitfrom Old French traiz
- GermanTrakt
- Italiantratto
- Occitantrach
- Englishtractfrom Old English tract
- Portuguesetrato
- Portuguesetrecho
- Portuguesetreita
In English words that came into English from tractus
- tractortractus
- tracttractus
- traittractus
- tractiontractio
- tractiletractilis