vultus
Latin
Etymology
From earlier voltus (the standard spelling into the 1st century CE) with regular /ol → ul/ before consonants, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“to see”), probably e-grade with regular /el → ol/. Cognate to Welsh gweld, Tocharian B yel- (“to examine”) and Gothic 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐌸𐌿𐍃 (wulþus, “glory”) (from zero-grade).
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈu̯ul.tus/, [ˈu̯ʊɫ̪t̪ʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈvul.tus/, [ˈvul̪t̪us]
Noun
vultus m (genitive vultūs); fourth declension
- a facial expression, look, countenance
- 4th-century CE, Jerome of Stridon (St. Jerome), Vulgate, 27:23
- dīligenter agnōsce vultum pecoris tuī tuōsque gregēs cōnsīderā
- Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy own flocks
- (trans.: Douay-Rheims Bible)
- Be diligent to know the countenance of thy cattle, and consider thy own flocks
- dīligenter agnōsce vultum pecoris tuī tuōsque gregēs cōnsīderā
- 4th-century CE, Jerome of Stridon (St. Jerome), Vulgate, 27:23
- (anatomy, often in the plural) the front of the head, face
- (the face as involved in looking) the view, gaze
- Synonym: aspectus
- the distinctive appearance, looks, features
- Synonym: speciēs
Declension
Fourth-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | vultus | vultūs |
Genitive | vultūs | vultuum |
Dative | vultuī | vultibus |
Accusative | vultum | vultūs |
Ablative | vultū | vultibus |
Vocative | vultus | vultūs |
A rare or archaic plural by-form is also attested:
Second-declension noun (neuter), plural only.
Case | Plural |
---|---|
Nominative | vulta |
Genitive | vultōrum |
Dative | vultīs |
Accusative | vulta |
Ablative | vultīs |
Vocative | vulta |
Descendants
See also
References
- “uultus” on page 2340 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 1136
Further reading
- “vultus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- vultus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- vultus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1698.
- vultus in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung, column 3565
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
- his eyes are always fixed on some one's face: oculi in vultu alicuius habitant
- to dissemble, disguise one's feelings: vultum fingere
- a feigned expression: vultus ficti simulatique
- to put on a stern air: vultum componere ad severitatem
- to keep one's countenance, remain impassive: vultum non mutare
- his eyes are always fixed on some one's face: oculi in vultu alicuius habitant