albus

Latin

flōs albus (a white flower)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *h₂élbʰos, *álbʰos, *albʰós (“white”). Cognates include Umbrian 𐌀𐌋𐌚𐌖 (alfu), Ancient Greek ἀλφός (alphos, “whiteness, white leprosy”), Hittite 𒀠𒉺𒀸 (alpas, “cloud”) and Middle Welsh elbid (“world”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA: /ˈal.bus/

• Audio (Classical)

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Adjective

albus m (feminine alba, neuter album); first/second declension

1. white (without lustre)
   • ca. 8 CE, Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book XII, lines 402-403

     totus pice nigrior atra, candida cauda tamen; color est quoque cruribus albus.

     All blacker than pitch was he, yet white was his tail; his legs were snowy white.

   • p. 830, Nennius, Historia Brittonum, II: 42

     duo vermes in eo sunt, unus albus et unus rufus

     "There are," said he, "two serpents, one white and the other red […] "

2. clear, bright
   • 77 CE, Gaius Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia, Liber XIV: lxxx

     colores vinis quattuor: albus, fulvus, sanguineus, niger.

     There are four colors of wine: white, brown, sanguine, and black.

3. pale, fair, gray, hoary
   • p. 1250, Thomas Aquinas, De ente et essentia

     […] et sic de ipsa aliquid praedicatur per accidens ratione eius, in quo est, sicut dicitur quod homo est albus, quia Socrates est albus, quamvis hoc non conveniat homini in eo quod homo.

     And thus something is accidentally asserted, that is, we say that man is white because Socrates is white, although this does not come about for men because [Socrates] is a man.

4. (figuratively) favorable, fortunate, auspicious, propitious

Usage notes

Latin albus is used primarily to mean "white" that is dull or matte. The word candidus is used primarily for shining whiteness. However, this distinction is not always followed.

Inflection

Number	Singular				Plural
Case \ Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
nominative	albus	alba	album		albī	albae	alba
genitive	albī	albae	albī		albōrum	albārum	albōrum
dative	albō	albae	albō		albīs	albīs	albīs
accusative	album	albam	album		albōs	albās	alba
ablative	albō	albā	albō		albīs	albīs	albīs
vocative	albe	alba	album		albī	albae	alba

• comparative: albior, superlative: albissimus

Synonyms

• (white): albidus, candidus, lacteolus
• (clear, bright): limpidus
• (pale, gray): cānus
• (favorable): bonus, favorābilis

Antonyms

• (white): ater, niger

Derived terms

albāmentum albārium albārius albātus albēdō

albeō albēscō albicēris albicō albidus

albitūdō albor albūgō albulus

album albūmen alburnum albus an ater sit

Descendants

Aromanian: albu Catalan: alb Dalmatian: jualb English: alb, abele, albino Old French: abel Italian: albo

Portuguese: alvo Romanian: alb Romansch: alv Sardinian: àbru Spanish: albo