improbus
Latin
Alternative forms
- inprobus
Etymology
From in- + probus.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈim.pro.bus/, [ˈɪmprɔbʊs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈim.pro.bus/, [ˈimprobus]
Adjective
improbus (feminine improba, neuter improbum, comparative improbior, superlative improbissimus, adverb improbē); first/second-declension adjective
- excessive, immoderate, flagrant, impudent
- greedy, wanton
- wicked, immoral, impious, rude
- shameless
- indomitable
- Given so many nuanced meanings of the word in context, varied understandings and translations of classical Latin may be possible, e.g.:
- 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.412:
- “Improbē Amor, quid nōn mortālia pectora cōgis?”
- “Indomitable Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
“Wicked Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
“Wanton Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
- “Indomitable Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
- “Improbē Amor, quid nōn mortālia pectora cōgis?”
- 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.331:
- noctis erat medium, quid nōn amor improbus audet?
- It was midnight – what doesn’t wanton desire dare?
It was midnight – what doesn’t wicked lust dare?
It was midnight – what doesn’t shameless passion dare?
- It was midnight – what doesn’t wanton desire dare?
- noctis erat medium, quid nōn amor improbus audet?
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | improbus | improba | improbum | improbī | improbae | improba | |
| Genitive | improbī | improbae | improbī | improbōrum | improbārum | improbōrum | |
| Dative | improbō | improbō | improbīs | ||||
| Accusative | improbum | improbam | improbum | improbōs | improbās | improba | |
| Ablative | improbō | improbā | improbō | improbīs | |||
| Vocative | improbe | improba | improbum | improbī | improbae | improba | |
Derived terms
- improbulus
Descendants
- French: improbe
- Portuguese: ímprobo
- Spanish: ímprobo
- Italian: improbo
References
- “improbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “improbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- improbus 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)
- improbus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- the aristocracy (as a party in politics): boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt
- the aristocracy (as a party in politics): boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt