caecus

Latin

Alternative forms

• coecus (misspelling)
• cēcus (in manuscripts)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *kaikos (“blind, eyeless”), from Proto-Indo-European *kéh₂ikos (“one-eyed”). Cognates include Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌷𐍃 (haihs), Old Irish cáech (“one-eyed”), caoch (“blind”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkae̯.kʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ʃɛː.kus]

Adjective

caecus (feminine caeca, neuter caecum); first/second-declension adjective

1. blind
   1. (literally) blind (not seeing)
   2. (figuratively) blind, blinded (mentally or morally)
   3. (figuratively) blind, at random, vague, indiscriminate, aimless, meaningless, acting blindly
      • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.209–210:

        “[...] caecīque in nūbibus ignēs / terrificant animōs et inānia murmura miscent?”

        “And [why do] aimless fires in the clouds terrify [our] spirits, and [their] meaningless murmurs unsettle [us]?”
        (King Iarbas dares to question whether lightning and thunder truly signify Jupiter’s disapproval of human affairs.)

   4. (transferred sense, botany) without buds or eyes
2. invisible
   1. (literally) invisible (that cannot be seen)
   2. (figuratively) invisible, concealed, hidden, secret, obscure, dark (that cannot be known)
3. opaque, dark, uncertain
   1. (literally) opaque (that obstructs sight; not transparent)
   2. (figuratively) dark, gloomy, thick, dense, obscure; uncertain, doubtful (that obstructs perception)

Inflection

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	caecus	caeca	caecum		caecī	caecae	caeca
genitive	caecī	caecae	caecī		caecōrum	caecārum	caecōrum
dative	caecō	caecae	caecō		caecīs
accusative	caecum	caecam	caecum		caecōs	caecās	caeca
ablative	caecō	caecā	caecō		caecīs
vocative	caece	caeca	caecum		caecī	caecae	caeca

Derived terms

• caeco
• caecum (noun)

Related terms

• caecitās
• Caecilius

Descendants

Descendants

• Aragonese: ziego
• Asturian: ciegu
• → English: caecum
• Old French: cieu, ciu, cé, ci
• → French: cæcum
• Italian: cieco
• Northern Italo-Romance:
  • Romagnol: cig (San Marino)
• Old Occitan:
  • Catalan: cec
  • Occitan: cèc
• Old Galician-Portuguese: cego
  • Galician: cego
  • Portuguese: cego
• Romanian: ceață
• Sardinian:
  • Campidanese: tzegu
  • Logudorese: tzegu
  • Nuorese: tzecu
• Old Spanish: ciego
  • Spanish: ciego

References

• “caecus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “caecus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “caecus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • Fortune makes men shortsighted, infatuates them: fortuna caecos homines efficit, animos occaecat
    
  • (ambiguous) to have no principles: caeco impetu ferri