maestus

Latin

Etymology

From maereō.

Alternative forms

• mēstus (Medieval Latin)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmae̯s.tus/, [ˈmäe̯s̠t̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmes.tus/, [ˈmɛst̪us]

Adjective

maestus (feminine maesta, neuter maestum, comparative maestior, superlative maestissimus, adverb maestē); first/second-declension adjective

1. sad, sorrowful, melancholy
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.84:

     nōn tibi sunt maestā sacra canenda lyrā.

     For you, sacred themes are not to be sung with a sorrowful lyre.

   Synonyms: trīstis, infēlīx, miser, aeger

   Antonyms: laetus, alacer, fēlīx

2. gloomy
3. mournful, of or pertaining to mourning or sadness
   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 3.134:

     hoc lūget spatiō fēmina maesta virum

     This is how long a mournful woman grieves [for] her husband.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	maestus	maesta	maestum		maestī	maestae	maesta
genitive	maestī	maestae	maestī		maestōrum	maestārum	maestōrum
dative	maestō	maestae	maestō		maestīs
accusative	maestum	maestam	maestum		maestōs	maestās	maesta
ablative	maestō	maestā	maestō		maestīs
vocative	maeste	maesta	maestum		maestī	maestae	maesta

Descendants

• Old French: meste
  • French: mêtir
• Italian: mesto
• Portuguese: mesto

References

• “maestus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “maestus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• maestus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.