parvus

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *pauros (“few, small”) with sonority hierarchy-related metathesis, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂urós, suffixed form of *peh₂w-. Cognate with Ancient Greek παῦρος (paûros), Old Armenian փոքր (pʿokʿr), and the Germanic cognates under Proto-Germanic *fawaz.

Alternative form

• parvos (normal Republican spelling)

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpar.u̯us/, [ˈpäru̯os̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpar.vus/, [ˈpɑrvus]

• Audio (Classical)

  (file)

Adjective

parvus (feminine parva, neuter parvum, comparative minor, superlative minimus); first/second-declension adjective

1. Small, little, puny.
2. Cheap, petty, trifling, ignorable, unimportant.

Inflection

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	parvus	parva	parvum		parvī	parvae	parva
Genitive	parvī	parvae	parvī		parvōrum	parvārum	parvōrum
Dative	parvō		parvō		parvīs
Accusative	parvum	parvam	parvum		parvōs	parvās	parva
Ablative	parvō	parvā	parvō		parvīs
Vocative	parve	parva	parvum		parvī	parvae	parva

This adjective has irregular comparative and superlative degrees.

Synonyms

• minutus

Antonyms

• grandis
• magnus

Derived terms

• parvibibulus
• parvicollis
• parvifaciō
• parvipendō
• parvitās
• parvulus
• perparvus
• praeparvus

 

Related terms

• paucus
• paulus
• pauper
• puer

Descendants

Descendants of parvus in other languages

• Galician: parvo
• Italian: parvo
• Spanish: parvo, párvulo
• Portuguese: parvo
• Romanian: pârv (possibly)

References

• parvus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• parvus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• parvus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• parvus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • from youth up: a puero (is), a parvo (is), a parvulo (is)
    
  • important results are often produced by trivial causes: ex parvis saepe magnarum rerum momenta pendent
    
  • a deep, high, thin, moderate voice: vox gravis, acuta, parva, mediocris
    
  • to be satisfied with a little: paucis, parvo contentum esse
    
  • to buy cheaply: parvo, vili pretio or bene emere
    
  • a thing costs much, little: aliquid magno, parvo stat, constat