patres conscripti
Latin
Etymology
Originally most likely an ellipsis of patrēs et cōnscrīptī, seemingly distinct groups of senators in the early Republic. The 7th-century writer Isidore of Seville interprets cōnscrīptī as adjectival, but this reading is now usually rejected; the singular pater cōnscrīptus is, however, attested in Cicero (apparently as a joke).
Noun
patrēs cōnscrīptī m pl (variously declined, genitive patrum cōnscrīptōrum); third declension, second declension
- (politics) An honorific term of address for the Roman Senate, literally conscript fathers or fathers and conscripts.
- 55 BCE, Cicero, In Pisonem 24:
- At audistis, patres conscripti, philosophi vocem: negavit se triumphi cupidum umquam fuisse.
- But Conscript Fathers, you heard the voice of the philosopher: he denied that he has ever had the desire for a triumph.
- At audistis, patres conscripti, philosophi vocem: negavit se triumphi cupidum umquam fuisse.
Declension
Third-declension noun with a second-declension noun, plural only.
Case | Plural |
---|---|
Nominative | patrēs cōnscrīptī |
Genitive | patrum cōnscrīptōrum |
Dative | patribus cōnscrīptīs |
Accusative | patrēs cōnscrīptōs |
Ablative | patribus cōnscrīptīs |
Vocative | patrēs cōnscrīptī |
Descendants
- → English: conscript father (calque)