morsus
Latin
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Perfect passive participle of mordeō (“to bite”).
Participle
morsus (feminine morsa, neuter morsum)Category:Latin non-lemma forms#MORSUSCategory:Latin participles#MORSUSCategory:Latin perfect participles#MORSUSCategory:Latin first and second declension participles#MORSUSCategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#MORSUSCategory:Pages with entries#MORSUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#MORSUS; first/second-declension participle
- bitten, eaten, devoured, consumed, having been bitten
- (figuratively) stung, pained, hurt, bitten, having been stung
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| masculine | feminine | neuter | masculine | feminine | neuter | ||
| nominative | morsus | morsa | morsum | morsī | morsae | morsa | |
| genitive | morsī | morsae | morsī | morsōrum | morsārum | morsōrum | |
| dative | morsō | morsae | morsō | morsīs | |||
| accusative | morsum | morsam | morsum | morsōs | morsās | morsa | |
| ablative | morsō | morsā | morsō | morsīs | |||
| vocative | morse | morsa | morsum | morsī | morsae | morsa | |
Etymology 2
From mordeō (“to bite”) + -sus (action noun)Category:Latin terms suffixed with -tus (action noun)#MORSUS.
Noun
morsus m (genitive morsūs)Category:Latin lemmas#MORSUSCategory:Latin nouns#MORSUSCategory:Latin fourth declension nouns#MORSUSCategory:Latin masculine nouns in the fourth declension#MORSUSCategory:Latin entries with incorrect language header#MORSUSCategory:Latin masculine nouns#MORSUSCategory:Pages with entries#MORSUSCategory:Pages with 1 entry#MORSUS; fourth declension
- a bite, sting
- 524 CE, Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy 3.7m:
- voluptăs omnis […]
apiumque pār volantum
ubi grāta mella fūdit,
fugit et nimis tenācī
ferit icta corda morsū.- every pleasure […] , like swarming bees, it pours out delightful honey and then flees, hitting our beaten hearts with a long-lasting sting.
- voluptăs omnis […]
- (figuratively) pain, vexation, bite, sting
- (by extension) sharpness of flavor, sharp taste, pungency
- (by extension) jaw, tooth, fang, fluke (of an anchor)
- 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 1.168–169:
- [...] Hīc fessās nōn vincula nāvēs
ūlla tenent, uncō nōn alligat ancora morsū.- Here [there are] not any cables tying weary ships, nor anchor with barbed fluke holding fast.
(An anchor “bites” the sand not unlike a tooth.)
- Here [there are] not any cables tying weary ships, nor anchor with barbed fluke holding fast.
- [...] Hīc fessās nōn vincula nāvēs
Declension
Fourth-declension noun.
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- “morsus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “morsus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- "morsus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- “morsus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- the pain is very severe: acer morsus doloris est (Tusc. 2. 22. 53)
- the pain is very severe: acer morsus doloris est (Tusc. 2. 22. 53)