obscurus

Latin

Etymology

A fossilised compound; from ob- +‎ *scūrus (“dark”), from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃i-, extension of *(s)ḱeh₃- (“dark”). Compare Old Irish cíar (“dark”) and Old English hār (“grey-haired”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ɔpˈskuː.rʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [obˈskuː.rus]

Adjective

obscūrus (feminine obscūra, neuter obscūrum, comparative obscūrior, superlative obscūrissimus, adverb obscūrē); first/second-declension adjective

1. dark, dusky, shadowy
2. indistinct, unintelligible, obscure

   Synonym: opācus

   Antonyms: clārus, lūcidus

3. intricate, involved, complicated
4. unknown, unrecognized
5. (of character) reserved, secret, close

   Synonyms: perobscūrus, clandestīnus, occultus, sēcrētus, arcānus

   Antonyms: manifestus, cōnspicuus

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	obscūrus	obscūra	obscūrum		obscūrī	obscūrae	obscūra
genitive	obscūrī	obscūrae	obscūrī		obscūrōrum	obscūrārum	obscūrōrum
dative	obscūrō	obscūrae	obscūrō		obscūrīs
accusative	obscūrum	obscūram	obscūrum		obscūrōs	obscūrās	obscūra
ablative	obscūrō	obscūrā	obscūrō		obscūrīs
vocative	obscūre	obscūra	obscūrum		obscūrī	obscūrae	obscūra

Derived terms

• obscūrē
• obscūrēfaciō
• obscūridicus
• obscūriloquium
• obscūritās
• obscūrō
• obscūrum

Related terms

• obscūrātiō

Descendants

• Aromanian: scur, scuru
• Asturian: escuru
• → Catalan: obscur
• → Czech: obskurní
• → German: obskur
• Dalmatian: sčor
• Old French: oscur
  • Middle French: obscur
    • French: obscur
  • → English: obscure
• Galician: escuro
• → Hungarian: obskúrus
• Italian: oscuro, scuro
  • → Maltese: oskur
• Mirandese: scuro
• Occitan: escur
• Portuguese: escuro, → obscuro
• Romanian: obscur
• Romansh: stgir, stgeir, s-chür
• Sardinian: iscuru, scuru
• Sicilian: scuru
  • → Maltese: skur
• Spanish: oscuro, escuro, → obscuro
• → Swedish: obskyr
• Venetan: scuro, scur

Further reading

• “obscurus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “obscurus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “obscurus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • of humble, obscure origin: humilibus (obscuris) parentibus natus
    
  • this passage is obscure: hic (ille) locus obscurus est
    
  • (ambiguous) of humble, obscure origin: humili, obscuro loco natus