LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

vetustās

vetustās f (genitive vetustātis)
Classical[wɛˈtʊs.taːs]Ecclesiastical[veˈtus.tas]

Meaning

  1. old age
  2. long existence or duration
  3. antiquity

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

tempus antīquum, aetās longa
vetustās -ātis (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 2, 24

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevetustāsvetustātēs
genitivevetustātisvetustātum
dativevetustātīvetustātibus
accusativevetustātemvetustātēs
ablativevetustātevetustātibus
vocativevetustāsvetustātēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

vetustate amicitiae coniunctum esse
to be very old friends.
vel maximos luctus vetustate tollit diuturnitas (Fam. 5. 16. 5)
time assuages the most violent grief.
proverbium vetustate or sermone tritum (vid. sect. II. 3, note tritus...)
an old proverb which every one knows.
repetere ab ultima (extrema, prisca) antiquitate (vetustate), ab heroicis temporibus
to go back to the remote ages.

vĕtustas, ātis, f. id.,
I. old age, age, long existence.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.: municipium vetustate antiquissimum, Cic. Phil. 3, 6, 15: vetustate possessionis se, non jure defendunt, id. Agr. 2, 21, 57: tantum aevi longinqua valet mutare vetustas, Verg. A. 3, 415: tum senior: quamvis obstet mihi tarda vetustas; Multaque me fugiant, etc., = senectus, Ov. M. 12, 182.—Plur.: quae familiarnm vetustatibus aut pecuniis ponderantur, Cic. Rep. 1, 31, 47.—
B. In partic., ancient times, antiquity: historia nuntia vetustatis, Cic. de Or. 2, 9, 36: contra omnia vetustatis exempla, Caes. B. C. 1, 6: in tantā vetustate non rerum modo sed etiam auctorum, Liv. 2, 21, 4: vetustatem in majus componens, exaggerating, Sall. H. 3, 60 Dietsch: judicio vetustatis, Quint. 1, 5, 72: sic credidit alta vetustas, Sil. 1, 26.—
II. Transf.
A. Long duration, great age: quae mihi videntur habitura etiam vetustatem, i.e. will have a long duration, Cic. Att. 14, 9, 2: scripta vetustatem si modo nostra ferent, Ov. Tr. 5, 9, 8: vinum in vetustatem servare, till it becomes old, acquires age, Cato, R. R. 114, 2: terebinthi materies fidelis ad vetustatem, Plin. 13, 6, 12, § 54; Quint. 10, 1, 40; Col. 3, 2, 19; Cels. 3, 14: conjuncti vetustate, officiis, benevolentiā, i. e. long intimacy, ancient friendship, Cic. Fam. 13, 32, 2; 10, 10, 2; 11, 16, 2; Q. Cic. Pet. Cons. 5, 16.—
B. Hence, posterity, the remote future (conceived as a time when this age will have become ancient): de me semper omnes gentes loquentur, nulla umquam obmutescet vetustas, Cic. Mil. 35, 98: si qua fidem tanto est operi latura vetustas, Verg. A. 10, 792 Ladew. and Forbig. ad loc.; cf.: quis hoc credat, nisi sit pro teste vetustas, Ov. M. 1, 400.—
C. In medic. lang.: ulcerum, i. e. inveterate ulcers, Cels. 5, 26, 31; Plin. 21, 19, 74, § 127.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wet-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wétos
  3. Proto-Italic*wetos
  4. Latinvetustās

Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin vetustās From vetus (“old”) + -tās (used to form nouns indicating a state of being).

Descendants
  • Englishvetusty
  • Englishvetustity
  • Frenchvétusté
  • Italianvetustà

In English words that came into English from vetustās

  • vetustyvetustās

Quick answers

What does vetustās mean in Latin?
vetustās, a noun, means “old age; long existence or duration; antiquity”.
What is the genitive of vetustās?
The genitive singular is vetustātis. vetustās is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce vetustās?
In classical Latin, [wɛˈtʊs.taːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [veˈtus.tas].
Where does vetustās come from?
Proto-Indo-European *wet- → Proto-Indo-European *wétos → Proto-Italic *wetos → Latin vetustās.