LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

versus1

versus m (genitive versūs)
Classical[ˈwɛr.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈvɛr.sus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea furrow (turned earth)
  2. masculinea line, row
  3. especiallymasculinea line of writing; (poetry) a verse
    Magnum ibi numerum versuum ediscere dicuntur.They are said to learn by heart a great number of verses there.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 6.14
  4. masculinea land measure equal to a plethron
    Ille, Modos, quibus metirentur rura, alius alios constituit. Nam in Hispania ulteriore metiuntur iugis, in Campania versibus, apud nos in agro Romano ac Latino iugeris. Iugum vocant, quod iuncti boves uno die exarare possint.Each country has its own method of measuring land. Thus in farther Spain the unit of measure is the iugum, in Campania the versus, with us here in the district of Rome and in Latium the iugerum. The iugum is the amount of land which a yoke of oxen can plough in a day; the versus is an area 100 feet square; 2 the iugerum an area containing two square actus.1st century BCE, Marcus Terentius Varro, Rerum rusticarum libri III (Agricultural Topics in Three Books).Liber I, X
  5. masculinea turn, step

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

verses
versūs — in Seneca, ch. IV

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeversusversūs
genitiveversūsversuum
dativeversuīversibus
accusativeversumversūs
ablativeversūversibus
vocativeversusversūs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

alicuius laudes versibus persequi
to sing the praises of some one (not canere aliquem)
alicuius res gestas versibus ornare, celebrare
to celebrate some one's exploits in song.

versus (vors-), ūs (ante-class. collat. form of the plur. versi, Laev. ap. Prisc. p. 712 P.: versorum, Laber. ib.: versis, Val. ib.), m. verto, a turning round, i. e. of the plough.
I. A furrow, Col. 2, 2, 25; Plin. 18, 19, 49, § 177.—
II. Transf., a line, row.
A. In gen.: in versum distulit ulmos, Verg. G. 4, 144: remorum, Liv. 33, 30, 5; cf. Verg. A. 5, 119: foliorum, Plin. 15, 29, 37, § 122: creber catenarum, Sil. 7, 658.—
B. In partic., a line of writing; and in poetry, a verse: ut primum versum (legis) attenderet, Cic. Rab. Post. 6, 14: deplorat primis versibus mansionem suam, id. Att. 2, 16, 4; id. de Or. 1, 61, 261: magnum numerum versuum ediscere, Caes. B. G. 6, 14; Nep. Epam. 4, 6; Liv. 41, 24, 13; Quint. 1, 4, 3; 7, 1, 37; 10, 1, 38; 10, 1, 41; Plin. Ep. 4, 11, 16; Ov. Am. 1, 11, 21: si quis minorem gloriae fructum putat ex Graecis versibus percipi quam ex Latinis, vehementer errat, Cic. Arch. 10, 23; id. de Or. 2, 64, 257; 3, 50, 194; id. Or. 20, 67; Quint. 9, 4, 48 sq.; 11, 2, 39; 11, 2, 51; Hor. S. 1, 10, 54; 2, 1, 21; id. Ep. 2, 2, 52; Verg. E. 5, 2.—
C. The note, song of the nightingale, Plin. 10, 29, 43, § 83.—
III. A land-measure, = Gr. πλέθρον, Varr. R. R. 1, 10, 1.—
IV. A kind of dance, or a turn, step, pas in a dance, Plaut. Stich. 5, 7, 2.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wert-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wértetor
  3. Proto-Italic*wertō
  4. Latinversus

Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin versus From vertō + -tus (forming action nouns).

Descendants
  • Catalanves
  • Frenchvers
  • Italianverso
  • Occitanvers
  • Romanianviers
  • Sardinianbessu
  • Catalanvers
  • Englishverse
  • Portugueseverso
  • Spanishverso
adverb
versus2
versus (not comparable)
Classical[ˈwɛr.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈvɛr.sus]

Meaning

  1. not comparabletowards, turned to or in the direction of, facing

versus (vors-), adv. and prep., v. verto,
I. P. a. fin.

Origins

Adverbial use of versus (“turned”).

Descendants
  • Catalanbes
  • Catalanves
  • Catalanvers
  • Frenchvers
  • Italianverso
  • Occitanves
  • Englishversus
  • Englishverso
  • Frenchversus
  • Italianversus
verbfirst/second-declension participle
versus3
versus (feminine versa, neuter versum)
Classical[ˈwɛr.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈvɛr.sus]

Meaning

  1. participleturned, changed, having been turned

versus (vors-), a, um, Part. of verto.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wert-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wr̥ttós
  3. Latinversus

Proto-Italic *worssosder. Latin vorsus Latin versus From earlier vorsus, from Proto-Italic *worssos, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥ttós, from *wert- + *-tós.

Quick answers

What does versus mean in Latin?
versus, a noun, means “a furrow (turned earth); a line, row; a line of writing”.
What is the genitive of versus?
The genitive singular is versūs. versus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce versus?
In classical Latin, [ˈwɛr.sʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈvɛr.sus].
Where does versus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *wert- → Proto-Indo-European *wértetor → Proto-Italic *wertō → Latin versus.