castus
Latin
Etymology
Verbal adjective from the same root of careō (“I lack”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to cut”). Compare the meanings of pūrus/putus and derived putō. Related to Etruscan 𐌂𐌀𐌔𐌕𐌂𐌄 (castce).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkas.tus/, [ˈkäs̠t̪ʊs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkas.tus/, [ˈkäst̪us]
Adjective
castus (feminine casta, neuter castum, comparative castior, superlative castissimus, adverb castē); first/second-declension adjective
- morally pure, guiltless, spotless
- Synonyms: innoxius, īnsōns, innocēns
- Antonyms: reus, obnoxius, noxius, cōnscius
- especially in regard to sexual morality: pure, chaste, unpolluted, virtuous, continent
- 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.307-308:
- casta quidem, sed nōn et crēdita: rūmor inīquus
laeserat, et falsī crīminis ācta rea est.- Chaste, [she was] indeed, and yet had not been believed [to be so]:
unjust slander had wronged her, and she was charged on a false accusation.
(See Claudia Quinta.)
- Chaste, [she was] indeed, and yet had not been believed [to be so]:
- casta quidem, sed nōn et crēdita: rūmor inīquus
- pure, free from barbarisms
- in a religious context: religious, pious, holy, sacred
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nominative | castus | casta | castum | castī | castae | casta | |
| Genitive | castī | castae | castī | castōrum | castārum | castōrum | |
| Dative | castō | castō | castīs | ||||
| Accusative | castum | castam | castum | castōs | castās | casta | |
| Ablative | castō | castā | castō | castīs | |||
| Vocative | caste | casta | castum | castī | castae | casta | |
Derived terms
- castificō
- castīgō
- castitās
- Castī connūbiī (of chaste wedlock)
- incestus
Descendants
- Asturian: castu
- Catalan: cast
- → English: chaste, caste
- French: chaste, caste
- Friulian: cast
- Galician: casto
- Italian: casto
- Occitan: cast
- Portuguese: casto, casta
- Romanian: cast
- Spanish: casto, casta
Noun
castus m (genitive castūs); fourth declension
- (pre-Classical, post-Classical) an abstinence from sensual enjoyments on religious grounds
Declension
Fourth-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | castus | castūs |
| Genitive | castūs | castuum |
| Dative | castuī | castibus |
| Accusative | castum | castūs |
| Ablative | castū | castibus |
| Vocative | castus | castūs |
Synonyms
- castimonia
Derived terms
- incestus
References
- “castus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “castus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- castus 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)
- castus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN