LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterthird declension

vēr

vēr n (genitive vēris)
Classical[ˈweːr]Ecclesiastical[ˈvɛr]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. spring (season)
    Iam vēr ēgelidōs refert tepōrēs, iam caelī furor aequinoctiālis iūcundīs Zephyrī silēscit aurīs. Linquantur Phrygiī, Catulle, campī Nīcaeaeque ager ūber aestuōsae: ad clārās Asiae volēmus urbēs. Iam mēns praetrepidāns avet vagārī, iam laetī studiō pedēs vigēscunt. Ō dulcēs comitum valēte coetūs, longē quōs simul ā domō profectōsTranslation by Wikisource Now spring brings back the thawed-out warmth, now the raging of the equinoctial sky subsides with the sweet breezes of Zephyr. Let the Phrygian plains be left behind, Catullus, and the rich land of sweltering Nicaea: let us fly away to the famed cities of Asia. Now my fluttering soul yearns to wander; now my joyful feet come alive with eagerness. Farewell, dear bands of fellow travellers, whom, having left home at the same time, split paths carry home by different routes.c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 46
    Vēr novum, vēr iam canōrum, vēre nātus orbis est.The spring is new, the spring is now melodious, in the spring was the world created.c. 4th century CE, Tiberianus, Pervigilium Veneris 2

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tempus annī novum, cum flōrēs nāscuntur et avēs cantant.
vēr vēris n — in Mille Verba, Caelum et Tempestātēs

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevērvēra
genitivevērisvērum
dativevērīvēribus
accusativevērvēra
ablativevērevēribus
vocativevērvēra

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

ver appetit
spring is approaching.

vēr, vēris (abl. veri, Col. 10, 129), n. Gr. ἔαρ, ἦρ, i. e. ϝηρ,
I. the spring.
I. Lit., Varr. L. L. 6, § 9 Müll.; id. R. R. 1, 28, 1; Plaut. Truc. 2, 4, 2; Lucr. 5, 737; Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 10, § 27; id. Lael. 19, 70: vere novo, Verg. G. 1, 43; Hor. C. 1, 4, 1; 4, 7, 9; 4, 12, 1: primo vere, at the beginning of spring, Cato, R. R. 50; Hor. C. 3, 7, 2.—Prov.: vere prius flores, aestu numerabis aristas, Ov. Tr. 4, 1, 57.—
II. Transf., the productions of spring: cum breve Cecropiae ver populantur apes, Mart. 9, 14, 2.—So esp. freq., ver sacrum, a special offering presented from the firstlings of spring, which it was customary to vow in critical circumstances: ver sacrum vovendi mos fuit Italis. Magnis enim periculis adducti vovebant, quaecumque proximo vere nata essent apud se animalia immolaturos, etc., Fest. p. 379 Müll.; cf. id. s. v. Mamertini, p. 158; id. s. v Sacrani, p. 321; Sisenn. ap. Non. 522, 17: ver sacrum vovendum, si bellatum prospere esset, etc., Liv. 22, 9, 10; cf. the votive formula, id. 22, 10, 2; so id. 33, 44, 1; 34, 44, 1 sqq. Weissenb. ad loc.; Just. 24, 4, 1.—
II. Trop., the spring-time of life, youth (poet.): jucundum cum aetas florida ver ageret, Cat. 68, 16; Ov. M. 10, 85.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *wezor (stem *wezn-), from Proto-Indo-European *wósr̥ (“spring”). The original Italic form gave *veror, genitive *vēnis, with *-s- lost before -n- with lengthening of the preceding vowel, as is usual in Latin. The -n- of the genitive stem was then replaced by the -r- of the nominative, and the genitive stem was then extended back to the nominative. Cognate with Ancient Greek ἔᾰρ (éăr), Old Norse vár, Lithuanian vasara, Sanskrit वसर् (vasar, combining form of उ॒षस् (uṣás, “morning”)) and व॒स॒न्त (vasantá, “spring”), Persian بهار (bahâr, “spring”), Old Armenian գարուն (garun), and Old Church Slavonic весна (vesna).

Descendants
  • Old Catalanver
  • Vulgar Latin*vēra
  • Vulgar Latin*vērānum

Quick answers

What does vēr mean in Latin?
vēr, a noun, means “spring (season)”.
What is the genitive of vēr?
The genitive singular is vēris. vēr is neuter, third declension.
How do you pronounce vēr?
In classical Latin, [ˈweːr]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈvɛr].