noun · femininethird declension
urbs
urbs f (genitive urbis)
Classical[ˈʊrps]Ecclesiastical[ˈurbs]
№ 82 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- femininea city, walled town
Urbī ferrō flammāque minātus est.
He threatened the city with fire and sword.Ō dī immortālēs, ubinam gentium sumus? Quam rem pūblicam habēmus? In quā urbe vīvimus?
O immortal gods, where on earth are we? What government do we have? In what city do we live?106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, In Catilinam - femininethe City, Rome
Ab urbe conditā.
From the founding of the City.Urbī et orbī.
To the City and the world.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
magna cīvitās mūrīs cīncta; ``Urbs'' = Rōma ipsa.urbs urbis f — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia
cīvitās magna cum mūrīsurbs urbis (f) — in Metamorphoses I, †
city
urbs, urbis (f) — in De Bello Gallico II
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | urbs | urbēs urbīs |
| genitive | urbis | urbium |
| dative | urbī | urbibus |
| accusative | urbem | urbēs urbīs |
| ablative | urbe | urbibus |
| vocative | urbs | urbēs urbīs |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- inflammare urbem
- to set fire to a city.
- urbs in sinu sita est
- the city is situate on a bay.
- fama serpit (per urbem)
- a report is spreading imperceptibly.
- adventus Romam, in urbem
- arrival in Rome, in town.
- praesidiis firmare urbem
- to garrison a town.
- urbis obsidionem liberare
- to raise a siege (used of the army of relief).
- anno ab urbe condita quinto
- in the fifth year from the founding of the city.
- longe, procul abesse ab urbe
- to be far from town.
11 more phrases
- urbs patria or simply patria
- native place.
- praesidium collocare in urbe
- to garrison a town.
- sinus urbis (Sall. Cat. 52. 35)
- the heart of the city.
- propius accedere ad urbem or urbem
- to advance nearer to the city.
- urbs situ ad aspectum praeclara est
- the city is very beautifully situated.
- appropinquare urbi, rarely ad urbem
- to draw near to a city.
- auspicato (rem gerere, urbem condere)
- after having duly taken the auspices.
- ingredi, intrare urbem, introire in urbem
- to enter a city.
- ex urbe (civitate) expellere, pellere aliquem
- to banish a person, send him into exile.
- pestilentia (not pestis) in urbem (populum) invadit
- the plague breaks out in the city.
- exterminare (ex) urbe, de civitate aliquem (Mil. 37. 101)
- to expel a person from the city, country.
urbs, urbis (dat. VRBEI, Corp. Inscr. Lat. 206), f. Sanscr. vardh-, to make strong; cf. Pers. vard-ana, city,
I. a walled town, a city.
I. Lit.
1. In gen.:
hi coetus sedem primum certo loco domiciliorum causā constituerunt: quam cum locis manuque sepsissent, ejusmodi conjunctionem tectorum oppidum vel urbem appellaverunt, delubris distinctam spatiisque communibus, Cic. Rep. 1, 26, 41; cf.: post ea qui fiebat orbis, urbis principium, Varr. L. L. 5, § 143 Müll.: urbs dicitur ab orbe, quod antiquae civitates in orbem flebant, id. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 1, 12: interea Aeneas urbem designat aratro, Verg. A. 5, 755 Serv.: veni Syracusas, quod ab eā urbe ... quae tamen urbs, etc., Cic. Phil. 1, 3, 7: certabant urbem Romam Remoramne vocarent, Enn. ap. Cic. Div. 1, 48, 107 (Ann. v. 85 Vahl.): arce et urbe sum orba, id. ap. Cic. Tusc. 3, 19, 44 (Trag. v. 114 ib.): urbes magnae et imperiosae, id. Rep. 1, 2, 3: urbs illa praeclara (Syracusae), id. ib. 3, 31, 43: duabus urbibus eversis inimicissimis huic imperio, id. Lael. 3, 11.— Rarely, and mostly poet., with the name of the city in gen.: urbs Patavi, Buthroti, Verg. A. 1, 247; 3, 293: Cassius in oppido Antiochiae cum omni exercitu, Cic. Att. 5, 18, 1.—With adj. prop.: urbs Romana = Roma, Liv. 9, 41, 16; 22, 37, 12; 40, 36, 14; Flor. 1, 13, 21.—Of other cities (rare and post-class.): Lampsacenae urbis salus, Val. Max. 7, 3, ext. 4: in urbe Aquilejensi, Paul. v. S. Ambros. 32: urbs urbium, a metropolis, Flor. 2, 6, 35.—2. In partic., the city of Rome (like ἄστυ, of Athens):
postquam Urbis appellationem, etiamsi nomen proprium non adiceretur, Romam tamen accipi sit receptum, Quint. 6, 3, 103; cf. id. 8, 2, 8; 8, 5, 9: hujus urbis condendae principium profectum a Romulo, Cic. Rep. 2, 2, 4; cf. id. ib. 1, 47, 71; 1, 1, 1; 1, 37, 58: (Caesar) maturat ab urbe proficisci, Caes. B. G. 1, 7: de urbe augendā quid sit promulgatum, non intellexi, Cic. Att. 13, 20, 1: conditor urbis (Romulus), Ov. F. 1, 27: (pater) Dextera sacras jaculatus arces Terruit urbem, Hor. C. 1, 2, 4: minatus urbi vincla, id. Epod. 9, 9; called also urbs aeterna, Amm. 14, 6, 1.— Ad urbem esse, to stop at or near Rome; in publicists' lang., of returning generals, who had to remain outside of the city till the Senate decreed them the right of entrance; or of provincial magistrates who were preparing for departure to their provinces, Cic. Verr. 1, 15, 45 Ascon.; 2, 2, 6, § 17; Sall. C. 30, 4; Caes. B. C. 6, 1.—B. Transf., as in Engl.
1. The city, for the citizens (rare; cf.
civitas): invadunt urbem somno vinoque sepultam, Verg. A. 2, 265: maesta attonitaque, Juv. 11, 198: bene moratae, Auct. ap. Quint. 8, 6, 24.—2. The capital city, metropolis (post-class.):
si tam vicinum urbi municipium sit, ut, etc., Dig. 39, 2, 4 fin.; Cod. Th. 14, 1, 3.—* II. Trop.:
urbem philosophiae, mihi crede, proditis, dum castella defenditis, i. e. the main point, Cic. Div. 2, 16, 37.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
urbs urbis, f
a walled town, city : Interea Aeneas urbem designat aratro, V.: Certabant urbem Romam Remoramne vocarent, Enn. ap. C.: urbes magnae atque imperiosae: duabus urbibus eversis: Romana (i. e. Roma), L.—Poet., with gen. of name: urbs Patavi, V.—Rome, the city of Rome: (Caesar) maturat ab urbe proficisci, Cs.: conditor urbis (Romulus), O.: (pater) Terruit urbem, H.: ad urbem cum esset, i. e. close to Rome: ei utrique ad urbem inperatores erant, S.—An acropolis, citadel, Cu.—The city, citizens: somno vinoque sepulta, V.: maesta attonitaque, Iu.— Fig., a city, citadel, centre: urbem philosophiae proditis.
Origins
Proto-Indo-European *werbʰ-der. Proto-Italic *worβis? Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰosder.? Latin urbs Uncertain. * From Proto-Italic *worβis, from Proto-Indo-European *werbʰ- (“to enclose”) (compare Umbrian 𐌖𐌄𐌓𐌚𐌀𐌋𐌄 (uerfale, “area for taking auspices”), Hittite [script needed] (warpa-, “enclosure”), Tocharian A warpi (“garden”), Tocharian B werwiye (“garden”)). * Derivation from Proto-Indo-European *gʰórdʰos (“city”) (from *gʰerdʰ- (“to enclose”), whence e.g. Hittite [script needed] (gurtas, “citadel”) Sanskrit गृह (gṛhá, “house”), English yard) has been proposed, but suffers from irregularities; *horbus would be rather expected.
Borrowed
- Englishurbs
- Italianurbe
- ItalianUrbe
- Portugueseurbe
- Romanianurbe
- Spanishurbe
- Esperantourbo
- Idourbo
Inherited
- Old Lombardorba