summum bonum

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English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin summum bonum.

Pronunciation

Noun

summum bonum (plural summa bona)

  1. (philosophy) The greatest good; the ultimate importance; the singular end which human beings ought to pursue.
    Antonym: summum malum
    • 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritus Iunior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 33:
      In a word, euery man for hiw owne ends: our ſummum bonum is commodity, and the Goddeſſe we adore is Dea moneta, Queene Mony, to whom wee daily offer ſacrifice, which ſteeres our hearts, hands, affections, all: […]

Further reading

Latin

Etymology

From summus (“superlative of superus”) + bonum (“a moral good”).

Noun

summum bonum n (genitive summī bonī); second declension

  1. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) The highest good; an ultimate goal of human existence.

Declension

Second-declension adjective with a second-declension noun (neuter).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative summum bonum summa bona
Genitive summī bonī summōrum bonōrum
Dative summō bonō summīs bonīs
Accusative summum bonum summa bona
Ablative summō bonō summīs bonīs
Vocative summum bonum summa bona
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