tantus

Latin

Etymology

From tam (“so”) +‎ -tus (adjectival/adverbial ending); compare quantus, intus, subtus.

One alternate etymology supposes direct continuation from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂-n̥t-os.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈtan.tʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈtan.tus]

Adjective

tantus (feminine tanta, neuter tantum); first/second-declension adjective

1. of such size, of such measure
2. so much, so great, such, so many
   • 63 BCE, Cicero, Catiline Orations Oratio in Catilinam Prima in Senatu Habita.32:

     Polliceor hoc vōbīs, Patrēs Cōnscrīptī: tantam in nōbīs cōnsulibus fore dīligentiam, tantam in vōbīs auctōritātem, tantam in equitibus Rōmānīs virtūtem, tantam in omnibus bonīs cōnsēnsiōnem, ut Catilīnae profectiōne omnia patefacta, inlūstrāta, oppressa, vindicāta esse videātis.

     I promise you this, Conscript Fathers: there will be so much diligence in us, the consuls, so much authority in you, so much courage in the Roman knights, and so much agreement among all good men, that by the departure of Catiline you may see everything be revealed, explained, suppressed — and avenged.

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.33:

     Tantae mōlis erat Rōmānam condere gentem.

     Of such great effort was it to found the Roman people.
     or, It was so great a burden to found the Roman race.
     (The gods conspire and humans suffer to found what will become an empire; i.e., so great the effort, so great the achievement.)

Usage notes

• Being naturally an adjective, tantus was then used substantively as tantum (frequently with genitive) to mean "so much of", "so many of"; as tantī (pretiī) to mean "so high (a price)" [called the genitive of indefinite value]; adverbially as tantum to mean "so much", "to such degree" (cf. tam); as tantō to mean "by so much". For all these quantus has its coordinate functions.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	tantus	tanta	tantum		tantī	tantae	tanta
genitive	tantī	tantae	tantī		tantōrum	tantārum	tantōrum
dative	tantō	tantae	tantō		tantīs
accusative	tantum	tantam	tantum		tantōs	tantās	tanta
ablative	tantō	tantā	tantō		tantīs
vocative	tante	tanta	tantum		tantī	tantae	tanta

Derived terms

• prō tantō
• tantopere
• tantulus
• tantum
• tantus ... quantus (“as much ... as”)
• tantusdem

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			realis			irrealis		interrogative				indefinite					alternative
	proximal	medial	distal	anaphoric	identity	affirmative	conditional	negative		indefinite	irrelative / emphatic	relative		irrelative	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste istic	ille illic	is	ipse īdem	quisquidem	sīquis	nēquisquam nēmō̆ nihil nūllus	numquis	ecquis ecquī ecquisnam ecquīnam	quisnam quīnam	quis quī	quisquis quīcumque	quīdam aliquis, quis aliquī, quī quispiam	quīvis quīlibet	quisque	quisquam ūllus	alius
comparative	huiusmodī huiuscemodī	istī̆usmodī	illī̆usmodī	eiusmodī	eiusdemmodī		sīcuiusmodī	nēcuiusquammodī	numcuiusmodī		cuiusnammodī	cuiusmodī	cuiusmodīcumque	alicuiusmodī cuiusdammodī	cuiusvīsmodī	cuiusquemodī	cuiusquammodī	alterī̆usmodī
dual								neuter			uternam	uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs uterlibet	uterque		alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem		sīcubī	nusquam nūllibī			ubinam	ubī̆	ubī̆cumque ubiubī̆	alicubī̆ uspiam	ubivīs ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	alibī aliās
source	hinc	ºistim istinc	ºillim illinc	inde	indidem		sīcunde	°nūllunde			undenam	ºcum unde	undecumque undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique	°undiquam	aliunde
destination	hūc hōc °hōrsum	istūc istōc °istōrsum	illūc illōc °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quōquidem	sīquō	nusquam °nūllōrsum	numquō	ecquō	quōnam	quō quōrsum	quōcumque quōquō °quōrsumcumque	aliquō quōpiam °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs quōlibet	quōque	quōquam	aliō aliōrsum
means, way, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quāquidem	sīquā	nēquāquam haudquāquam	numquā	ecquā	quānam	quā	quācumque quāquā	aliquā	quāvīs quālibet	quāque	°quāquam ūllā	aliā
distance	hāctenus	°istātenus °istāctenus	°illātenus °illāctenus	eātenus				nūllātenus		°ecquātenus	°quātenusnam	quātenus	°quātenuscumque °quāquātenus	aliquātenus quādantenus	°quātenusvīs °quātenuslibet		ūllātenus	aliātenus
reason	°hācpropter °hōccircā	°istāpropter	°illāpropter	eāpropter eōcircā				°nullāpropter °nullōcircā				cūr quāpropter quōcircā quārē	°quāproptercumque	°quādampropter		°quōquecircā		°aliāpropter
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita sīc eō modō	item itidem	quidem	sīquī	nihil nihilō neutiquam °neutī̆que nēquīquam nē quidem nūllō modō	numquī	ecquī	utinam	ut prout quī quō modō quōmodo quemadmodum quiter quārē	utcumque utut proutcumque quōmodocumque °quemadmodumcumque	quī quōdam modō aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	°utiquam °quīquam ūllō modō	aliter aliōquī alterō/aliō modō
time	†num nunc		ōlim	tum tunc	simul	quandō̆quidem	sīquandō̆	numquam	°numquandō̆	ecquandō̆	quandōnam	quandō̆ ‡cum	quandōcumque quandōque cumque °quandōnē °quandōquandō °cumcumque	quondam aliquandō̆	°quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen †tandem	°quamquidem						quam	quamcumque †quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs quamlibet	quamque
size				tantus	tantusdem							quantus	quantuscumque quantusquantus	aliquantus	quantusvīs quantuslibet	quantusque
quality				tālis						°ecquālis	quālisnam	quālis	quāliscumque quālisquālis	aliquālis	quālislibet	quālisque
number				tot	totidem						°quotnam °quotinam	quot	quotquot quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order/fractional				totus								quotus	°quotuscumque	°aliquotus	°quotuslibet	°quotusque °quotusquisque
repetition				totiēns				nullotiēns				quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet	quotiēnsque °quotiēnsquisque
multiplication				totuplex								quotuplex
proportion				°totuplus								quotuplus
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat changed ° Rare ‡ Only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative.

Descendants

• Aragonese: tanto
• Asturian: tantu, tanto
• Catalan: tant
• Corsican: tantu
• Emilian: tant
• Extremaduran: tantu
• Old French: tant
  • French: tant
• Franco-Provençal: tant
• Friulian: tant
• English: tanto, tantamount
• Galician: tanto
• Interlingua: tanto
• Italian: tanto
• Ligurian: tànto
• Lombard: tant
• Megleno-Romanian: tăntu
• Old Navarro-Aragonese: tant
• Occitan: tant
• Piedmontese: tante, tant
• Old Galician-Portuguese: tanto
  • Portuguese: tanto
• Romagnol: tant
• Sicilian: tantu
• Old Spanish: tanto
  • Spanish: tanto
• Venetan: tanto
• Walloon: tant

References

• “tantus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tantus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “tantus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the frost set in so severely that..: tanta vis frigoris insecuta est, ut
    
  • under such unfavourable circumstances: in tanta rerum (temporum) iniquitate
    
  • he had such an extraordinary memory that..: memoria tanta fuit, ut
    
  • (ambiguous) this much is certain: hoc (not tantum) certum est
    
  • (ambiguous) to take only enough food to support life: tantum cibi et potionis adhibere quantum satis est
    
  • (ambiguous) I will only say this much..: tantum or unum illud or hoc dico