LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

vallum

vallum n (genitive vallī)
Classical[ˈwal.lũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈval.lum]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterwall, rampart, entrenchment
    […]; quamquam de gloria vix dicere ausim, si nos et hostes haud secus quam feminas abditos intra vallum omnibus contumeliis eludunt, et […][…] ; though I had as lief not to speak of glory, when the enemy jeers us with much abuse as if women concealing behind walls, and […]27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7.13.6

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

mūrus ex terrā et lignīs circum castra.
vāllum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Bellum et Arma

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Agger · Vallum

Agger (from ἐσαγείρω) is a single line, like a dam; vallum or mound (ἀλκή) is a line which helps to enclose a space. Agger may serve in a warfare as the outwork of a redoubt [which is protected by a single line in front]; vallum [rampart] always belongs to a fortress, camp, or entrenched place.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevallumvalla
genitivevallīvallōrum
dativevallōvallīs
accusativevallumvalla
ablativevallōvallīs
vocativevallum
valle		valla

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

custodias agere in vallo
to keep watch on the rampart.
castra munire vallo (aggere)
to fortify the camp with a rampart.
oppidum cingere vallo et fossa
to surround a town with a rampart and fosse.
vallum iacere, exstruere, facere
to raise a rampart, earthwork.

vallum, i, n. collective of 1. vallus; the line of palisades about an intrenchment; hence,
I. an earthen wall or rampart set with palisades, a palisaded rampart, intrenchment, circumvallation.
I. Lit., Varr. L. L. 5, § 117 Müll.; Liv. 33, 5, 4 sq.: castra vallo fossāque munire, Caes. B. G. 2, 5: aliquem vallo et fossā saeptum tenere, Cic. Att. 9, 12, 3: oppidum vallo et fossā cingere, id. ib. 5, 20, 5: oppidum vallo et fossā circumdare, id. Fam. 15, 4, 10; Sall. J. 76, 2; Liv. 7, 23, 5; Verg. A. 9, 146; 9, 506; 9, 524; Hor. Epod. 9, 13 al.—
II. Transf., in gen., a wall, rampart, fortification; with gen.: non Alpium vallum contra ascensum transgressionemque Gallorum obicio et oppono, Cic. Pis. 33, 81: India vallo munitur eburno, Lucr. 2, 538: saepes pastorum munita vallo arboris, Plin. 12, 5, 11, § 22: (spica) contra avium minorum morsus munitur vallo aristarum, Cic. Sen. 15, 51: munitae sunt palpebrae tamquam vallo pilorum, id. N. D. 2, 57, 143: dentium, App. Dogm. Plat. 1, p. 10, 9.—Absol.: si interdicta petes vallo (i. e. stola) circumdata, etc., Hor. S. 1, 2, 96.

Origins

Schrijver suggests a connection with Ancient Greek ἧλος (hêlos, “nailhead, stud”). If this theory is accepted, then the term may reflect Proto-Italic *walso-, from earlier from Proto-Indo-European *uh₂lso-. However, De Vaan considers this explanation to be uncompelling. Alternatively, Prósper suggests that the term could reflect Proto-Indo-European *wə́lH.no-, from *welH- (“to turn, roll”), provided that her rendition of the palma-rule is accepted.

Elsewhere
  • Italianvallo
  • Englishvallum
  • Romanianval
  • Sicilianvaḍḍu
  • Albanianavulli
  • Czechval
  • Polishwał
  • Proto-West Germanic*wall
Old Galician-Portuguese
  • Portuguesevalo
  • Portuguesevala
  • Galicianvalo
Old Catalan
  • Catalanvall
Old Spanish
  • Spanishvalla

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesVallumVallum a term applied either to the whole or a portion of the fortifications of a Roman camp. It is derived from callus (a stake), and properly means …

Quick answers

What does vallum mean in Latin?
vallum, a noun, means “wall, rampart, entrenchment”.
What is the genitive of vallum?
The genitive singular is vallī. vallum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce vallum?
In classical Latin, [ˈwal.lũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈval.lum].