LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

vallis

vallis f (genitive vallis)
Classical[ˈwal.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈval.lis]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininea valley, vale
  2. femininepoetica hollow
    Cur valle permutem Sabina divitias operosiores? (Hor, Odes 3, I)'Why should I change my Sabine valley, for the heavier burden of excess wealth? ' A. S. Kline

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

terra humilis inter montēs.
vallis -is f — in Mille Verba, Rūs et Agrīcultūra
locus cavus inter montēs
vallis -is (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 16

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevallisvallēs
genitivevallisvallium
dativevallīvallibus
accusativevallemvallēs
vallīs
ablativevallevallibus
vocativevallisvallēs

vallis, is, v. valles.

Origins

Disputed. The term has been connected with Gothic walus (“staff, stick”) and Lithuanian apvalùs (“round”), themselves perhaps connected with Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). De Vaan, however, considers a derivation from such a root phonetically implausible for Latin. Alternatively, Prósper argues that a derivation from *wə́lH.ni- is tenable provided that their rendition of the palma-rule is also accepted. If a connection with this root is accepted, then the term is related to vāllum (“rampart”), North Frisian wal (“wall”), Dutch wal (“wall, rampart, embankment”), German Wall (“rampart, mound, embankment”), Swedish vall (“mound, wall, bank”).

Descendants
  • Catalanvall
  • Frenchvalfrom Old French val
  • Frenchvalléefrom Old French val
  • Frenchvallonfrom Old French val
  • Englishvalefrom Old French val
  • Englishvalleyfrom Old French val
  • Italianvalle
  • Occitanval
  • Occitanvath
  • Occitanvau

Quick answers

What does vallis mean in Latin?
vallis, a noun, means “a valley, vale; a hollow”.
What is the genitive of vallis?
The genitive singular is vallis. vallis is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce vallis?
In classical Latin, [ˈwal.lɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈval.lis].