fatuus

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word fatuus. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word fatuus, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say fatuus in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word fatuus you have here. The definition of the word fatuus will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition offatuus, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Maybe from dialectal Proto-Indo-European *bʰat-.[1] (See also battuō.) More likely, a derivative of *bʰeh₂- (to speak), particularly an abstract noun *bʰh₂-tu- (speech); thereby related to for.[2]

According to one hypothesis, Fatuus was an alternative name of the god Faunus, who predicted the future.

Pronunciation

Adjective

fatuus (feminine fatua, neuter fatuum); first/second-declension adjective

  1. foolish, silly, simple, stupid
    Synonyms: stultus, īnsipiēns, stupidus, āmēns, dēmēns, brūtus
    Antonyms: prūdēns, sapiēns, callidus, sollers
    Ego me ipsum stultum existimo, fatuum esse non opinor.I consider myself stupid, not silly.
  2. (of food) insipid, tasteless
    Synonyms: īnsulsus, īnsipidus, iners
    Ut sapiant fatuae, fabrorum prandia, betae.So that tasteless beets, the lunches of craftsmen, may have taste.
  3. awkward, clumsy, unwieldy
    Illa bipennem insulsam et fatuam dextra tenebat.She grasped an inelegant and unwieldy axe with her right hand.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative fatuus fatua fatuum fatuī fatuae fatua
genitive fatuī fatuae fatuī fatuōrum fatuārum fatuōrum
dative fatuō fatuae fatuō fatuīs
accusative fatuum fatuam fatuum fatuōs fatuās fatua
ablative fatuō fatuā fatuō fatuīs
vocative fatue fatua fatuum fatuī fatuae fatua

Noun

fatuus m (genitive fatuī, feminine fatua); second declension

  1. (derogatory) fool, simpleton, jester, buffoon, blockhead
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:homo stultus
    Ita, rogo; paene effregisti, fatue, foribus cardines.I do so ask you; you fool, you've almost broken the hinges from off the door.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Descendants

References

  1. ^ Roberts, Edward A. (2014) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN
  2. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “fatuus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 205

Further reading

  • fatuus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • fatuus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • fatuus 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)
  • fatuus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • fatuus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers