venetus

Latin

Etymology

From Venetī +‎ -us or directly from the unknown original endonym.

As a color term, possibly from the color of the Venetian Lagoon. It signified at first only the color of the charioteer faction's paraphernalia.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈwɛ.nɛ.tʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈvɛː.ne.tus]

Adjective

venetus (feminine veneta, neuter venetum); first/second-declension adjective

1. Venetian, of or related to the Veneti
2. (of dyed fabrics) blue (not deep blue), sea-blue, cyan

   venetus (possibly):  

   venetus (attested from mosaics):  

3. (Medieval Latin) Venetian, of or related to Venice

Usage notes

• Venetus is used for the Blues faction from the 1st century AD, but general use of venetus as a color term is not attested until considerably into Late Latin centuries later. It is said to be the color of seawater in general use by that time, and on one occasion is found as a gloss for the fashion color term callainus (“turquoise”). However, all known depictions of the Blues' charioteers show them clad in pure shades of blue with no greenishness to them. Possibly the word was not unlike modern English cyan and meant at once a blue-green color and an azure blue color. It is on one occasion in the Historia Augusta found to contrast with vitreus.
• As has already been noted, the color term, excepting the connection to the charioteer faction, is otherwise absent from Classical Latin.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	venetus	veneta	venetum		venetī	venetae	veneta
genitive	venetī	venetae	venetī		venetōrum	venetārum	venetōrum
dative	venetō	venetae	venetō		venetīs
accusative	venetum	venetam	venetum		venetōs	venetās	veneta
ablative	venetō	venetā	venetō		venetīs
vocative	venete	veneta	venetum		venetī	venetae	veneta

Related terms

• veneticus

Descendants

• Aromanian: vinit
• Italian: veneto
  • → Catalan: vènet
  • → French: vénète
    • → Romanian: venet
• Piedmontese: vénet
• → Portuguese: vêneto
• Romanian: vânăt
  • → Romani: vuneto
• → Spanish: véneto
• Venetan: vèneto

See also

Colors in Latin · colōrēs (layout · text)

albus, candidus, cānus, marmoreus (poetic), eburneus (poetic), niveus (poetic), argenteus (poetic), lacteus (poetic)	rāvus, pullus, mūrīnus (of livestock)	niger, āter, furvus, fuscus ("swarthy"), piceus (poetic)
ruber, russus, rūbidus (dark), flammeus (poetic); rutilus, pūniceus, spādīx (poetic), sanguineus (poetic)	rūfus, rutilus, rōbus (of oxen), croceus (poetic), aureus (poetic); fulvus (poetic), niger (of eyes), badius (of horses)	lūteus, flāvus ("blond"), lūridus, gilvus (of horses), helvus (of cattle); cēreus (poetic)
viridis, flāvus (poetic)	viridis, herbeus (of eyes), fulvus (poetic)	viridis, glaucus (poetic), caeruleus (poetic, only dark)
	glaucus (poetic), caeruleus, caesius (of eyes)	caeruleus, līvidus, ferrūgineus (poetic), glaucus (poetic)
violāceus	purpureus (underlying shade)	roseus

Noun

venetus m (genitive venetī); second declension

1. (historical, sports) the Blues, the racing faction of the Roman and Constantinopolitan circus clothed in blue

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	venetus	venetī
genitive	venetī	venetōrum
dative	venetō	venetīs
accusative	venetum	venetōs
ablative	venetō	venetīs
vocative	venete	venetī

Synonyms

• factio veneta

Coordinate terms

• prasinus, factio prasina (Greens); russatus, factio russata (Reds); albus, albatus, factio alba, factio albata (Whites); auratus, factio aurata (Golds, rare); purpureus, factio purpurea (Purples, rare)

Descendants

• Byzantine Greek: Βένετοι (Bénetoi)

References

• “venetus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "venetus", 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)