severus

See also: Severus

Latin

Etymology

According to De Vaan, from Proto-Italic *seɣwēros, from a collective derivation of the noun Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰwr̥, from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold”).

Other etymologists, such as Meiser, posit this word to be from se- + verus, but De Vaan notes a heavy semantic mismatch.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /seˈu̯eː.rus/, [s̠eˈu̯eːrʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /seˈve.rus/, [seˈvɛːrus]

Adjective

sevērus (feminine sevēra, neuter sevērum, comparative sevērior, superlative sevērissimus); first/second-declension adjective

1. severe, serious, strict, stern, stringent, austere, harsh, grave (in demeanor)

   Synonyms: trux, ferōx, atrōx, violēns, immānis, efferus, ferus, crūdēlis, barbaricus, silvāticus, acerbus, ācer

   Antonyms: mītis, tranquillus, misericors, placidus, quietus, clemens

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	sevērus	sevēra	sevērum		sevērī	sevērae	sevēra
Genitive	sevērī	sevērae	sevērī		sevērōrum	sevērārum	sevērōrum
Dative	sevērō		sevērō		sevērīs
Accusative	sevērum	sevēram	sevērum		sevērōs	sevērās	sevēra
Ablative	sevērō	sevērā	sevērō		sevērīs
Vocative	sevēre	sevēra	sevērum		sevērī	sevērae	sevēra

Derived terms

• sevēritās
• sevēritūdō
• assevērō

Related terms

• assevērō
• persevērō

 

Descendants

• Catalan: sever
• English: severe
• French: sévère
• Galician: severo
• Italian: severo
• Portuguese: severo
• Sicilian: siviru
• Spanish: severo

Further reading

• “severus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “severus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• severus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be brought up under strict discipline: severa disciplina contineri
    
  • a stern critic of morals: severus morum castigator
    
  • to be a strict disciplinarian in one's household: severum imperium in suis exercere, tenere (De Sen. 11. 37)
    
• “severus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “severus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
• “severe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.