LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

vītis

vītis f (genitive vītis)
Classical[ˈwiː.tɪs]Ecclesiastical[ˈviː.tis]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. vine, grapevine
    vel psithia passos de vite racemos[…] or dried clusters of grapes from Psithian vine[s]c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.269
    c. 160-220 C.E., Tertullian, De Judicio Domini, 22What makes a vine hang down richly with grapes
  2. historicala vine staff, the baton or cane (made of grapevine) of a Roman centurion
  3. any vine
    Si eius [cucumeris] florem, sicut in vite sua est, in forma fictili clauseris ac ligaris, […]If you close and tie its [the cucumber plant's] flower in a clay mold, as it is on its own vine, […]4th c./5th c. AD, Palladius, Opus Agriculturae 4.9.9

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

planta quae ūvās fert; per lignum alta crēscit.
vītis -is f — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevītisvītēs
genitivevītisvītium
dativevītīvītibus
accusativevītemvītēs
vītīs
ablativevītevītibus
vocativevītisvītēs

vītis, is, f. root in Sanscr. vjā, to cover; cf. Goth. vindan; Germ. winden, to bind; Lat. vieo; cf.: vitta, vitex,
I. a vine, grapevine.
I. Lit., Plin. 14, 1, 2, § 9; Cic. Sen. 15, 52 sq.; Col. 3, 1 sq.; Cic. N. D. 2, 47, 120; Verg. E. 1, 74; 5, 32; id. G. 1, 2; Hor. Ep. 1, 16, 3; Ov. M. 8, 676.—
II. Transf.
A. A vine-branch, Cato, R. R. 41; Varr. R. R. 1, 31, 3; 1, 8, 2; Ov. M. 6, 592 al.—
2. A centurion's staff, made of a vine-branch, Plin. 14, 1, 3, § 19; Liv. Epit. 57; Tac. A. 1, 23; Ov. A. A. 3, 527; Luc. 6, 146; Juv. 8, 247.— Hence,
b. By a second transf., the office of a centurion, centurionship, Juv 14, 193; Sil. 12, 395; 12, 465; 6, 43; Spart. Hadr. 10 med.—
B. For vinea, a military penthouse, mantlet, Lucil. ap. Fest. s. v. sub, p. 311 Müll. —
C. A vine in gen., of the pumpkin, cucumber, Pall. 4, 9, 9; 4, 10, 15; Mart. 8, 51, 12.—
D. Vitis nigra, black bryony, Plin. 23, 1, 17, § 27.—
E. Vitis alba, the plant called also ampeloleuce, Plin. 23, 1, 16, § 21; Col. 10, 347.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*weh₁y-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wéh₁itis
  3. Proto-Italic*wītis
  4. Latinvītis

Inherited from Proto-Italic *wītis, from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis (“that which twines or bends; branch, switch”), from *weh₁y- (“to twine, wind”) + *-tis (abstract or action suffix). Related to Latin vieō. Cognate with English withe.

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanvit
  • Occitanvitz
  • Occitanvit
  • Franco-Provençalvit
  • Old Frenchvis
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianbide
  • Sardinianvide
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesevidefrom Old Galician-Portuguese vide
  • Spanishvid
  • Asturianvide
  • Galicianvidefrom Old Galician-Portuguese vide
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianvite
  • Dalmatianvaita
  • Istriotveîda
  • Turkishvidafrom Italian vite
  • Maltesevitfrom Italian vite
  • Neapolitanvite
  • Sicilianviti
  • Venetanvida
Elsewhere
  • Catalanvidiellafrom Vulgar Latin *viticella
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianvît
Gallo-Italic
  • Piedmontesevis

Quick answers

What does vītis mean in Latin?
vītis, a noun, means “vine, grapevine; a vine staff, the baton or cane (made of grapevine) of a Roman centurion; any vine”.
What is the genitive of vītis?
The genitive singular is vītis. vītis is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce vītis?
In classical Latin, [ˈwiː.tɪs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈviː.tis].
Where does vītis come from?
Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- → Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itis → Proto-Italic *wītis → Latin vītis.