LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

vinculum

vinculum n (genitive vinculī)
Classical[ˈwɪŋ.kʊ.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈviŋ.ku.lum]
№ 594 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. neuterAny instrument whereby anything is bound or tied up; bond, band, fetter, chain, cord, tie, link
    Mōribus suīs Orgetorīgem ex vinculīs causam dīcere coēgērunt.In accordance with their customs, they compelled Orgetorix to plead his case in chains. (“Out of chains”; that is, “[standing] in chains”; a Latin idiom.)c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 1.4
  2. figurativelyneutera bond, obligation, binding force, tie, especially of marriage
    See alternative form vinclum, with quote from Aeneid, 4.59.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

catēna quā captus tenētur; vincula carceris.
vinculum -ī n — in Mille Verba, Urbs et Aedificia
id quō ligātur, fūnis
vinculum -ī (n) — in Aeneis, ch. 5

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Vincula · Catenæ · Compedes · Pedicæ · Manicæ

Vincula (ἀγκάλη, from nectere) are bands of any sort, as a generic term for catenæ, etc., like δεσμοί; catenæ are chains, whether for fettering or for other uses, like ἁλύσεις; compedes (from πέδη), for fettering in general, the hands or the feet; pedicæ, irons for fettering the feet; manicæ, irons for fettering the hands. Tac. Ann. vi. 14. Celsus in vinculis laxatam catenam, et circumdatam in diversum tendens suam ipse cervicem perfregit. (iv. 284.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevinculumvincula
vincla
genitivevinculī
vinclī		vinculōrum
vinclōrum
dativevinculō
vinclō		vinculīs
vinclīs
accusativevinculumvincula
vincla
ablativevinculō
vinclō		vinculīs
vinclīs
vocativevinculumvincula
vincla

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

vincula rumpere
to burst one's chains.
in vincula (custodiam) dare aliquem
to put some one in irons, chains.
in vincula, in catenas conicere aliquem
to put some one in irons, chains.
artissimo amicitiae vinculo or summa familiaritate cum aliquo coniunctum esse
to be bound by the closest ties of friendship.

vincŭlum, or (also in class. prose), contr., vinclum, i, n. id.,
I. that with which any thing is bound, a band, bond, rope, cord, fetter, tie (cf.: catena, manica, compes).
I. Lit.: corpora constricta vinculis, Cic. de Or. 1, 52, 226: nodos et vincula rupit, Verg. A. 5, 510: hic fessas non vincula naves Ulla tenent, id. ib. 1, 168: Chio solvite vincla cado, Tib. 2, 1, 28: tunicarum vincla relaxat, Ov. F. 2, 321: quamvis Charta sit a vinclis non labefacta suis, i. e. the seal, id. P. 3, 7, 6: chartae sua vincula dempsi, id. Tr. 4, 7, 7: epistolae laxare, Nep. Paus. 4, 1: pennarum vincula, Ov. M. 8, 226: et Tyrrhena pedum circumdat vincula plantis, Verg. A. 8, 458; so of sandals, Tib. 1, 5, 66; Ov. F. 1, 410; 2, 324; 3, 823.—
2. Esp. in the plur., of the fetters of prisoners, and hence sometimes to be rendered prison; and vincula publica, the state-prison: mitto vincla, mitto carcerem, mitto verbera, mitto secures, Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 24, § 59: aliquem aeternis tenebris vinculisque mandare, id. Cat. 4, 5, 10: de convivio in vincla atque in tenebras abripi, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 10, § 24: in vincula conjectus, Caes. B. G, 3, 9; 4, 27: in vincula duci, Liv. 3, 13, 4; 3, 49, 2; 3, 56, 4; 3, 57, 5; 5, 9, 4; 9, 34, 24; 38, 56, 9; Vell. 2, 7, 2 al.: in vinculis et catenis, Liv. 6, 16, 2; ex vinculis causam dicere, i. e. to plead in chains, Caes. B. G. 1, 4: publica, Nep. Milt. 7, 6; id. Paus. 2, 2; id. Cim. 1, 1; Paul. Sent. 5, 17, 3; 5, 26, 1.—
II. Trop., a bond, fetter, tie, band: qui ex corporum vinculis tamquam e carcere evolaverunt, Cic. Rep. 6, 14, 14: vinculum ad astringendam fidem, id. Off. 3, 31, 111; cf.: victum ingens vinculum fidei, Liv. 8, 28, 8: vincula revellit non modo judiciorum, sed etiam utilitatis vitaeque communis, Cic. Caecin. 25, 70: vinculum ingens immodicae cupiditatis injectum est, Liv. 10, 13, 14: quae (beneficium et gratia) sunt vincula concordiae, Cic. Fin. 2, 35, 117: vinculis et propinquitatis et affinitatis conjunctus, id. Planc. 11, 27: vincla summae conjunctionis, id. Att. 6, 2, 1: accedit maximum vinculum, quod ita rem publicam geris, ut, etc., id. Fam. 15, 11, 2: quod vinclum, quaeso, deest nostrae conjunctioni, id. ib. 5, 15, 2: ne cui me vinclo vellem jugali, Verg. A. 4, 16; cf. Ov. M. 9, 549: excusare laborem et mercenaria vincla, Hor. Ep. 1, 7, 67.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weyk-
  2. Latinvinculum

Proto-Indo-European *wi-n-k-der. Latin vinciō Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-trom Proto-Indo-European *-tlom Proto-Italic *-klom? Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos? Latin -ulum Latin vinculum From vinciō (“bind, fetter, tie”) + -ulum (instrument noun suffix).

Borrowings
  • Catalanvincle
  • Englishvinculum
  • Italianvincolo
  • Portuguesevínculo
  • Spanishvínculo
  • Asturianvínculu
  • Galicianvínculo
  • Piedmontesevìncol
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesebrincofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Portuguesevencilhofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Spanishbrincofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Spanishvencejo
  • Asturianvenceyu
  • Galicianbrincofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Galicianvincofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Galicianvencellofrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
  • Asturianbrincufrom Old Galician-Portuguese brinco
Italo-Romance
  • Italianvinchio
  • Italianvinco
  • Italianvinciglio
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanvencill

Quick answers

What does vinculum mean in Latin?
vinculum, a noun, means “Any instrument whereby anything is bound or tied up; bond, band, fetter, chain, cord, tie, link; a bond, obligation, binding force, tie, especially of marriage”.
What is the genitive of vinculum?
The genitive singular is vinculī. vinculum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce vinculum?
In classical Latin, [ˈwɪŋ.kʊ.ɫũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈviŋ.ku.lum].
Where does vinculum come from?
Proto-Indo-European *weyk- → Latin vinculum.