cibus

Latin

Etymology

Of unknown origin. Perhaps borrowed from Ancient Greek κίβος (kíbos, “box, chest”) / κίβισις (kíbisis, “pouch”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkɪ.bʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈt͡ʃiː.bus]

Noun

cibus m (genitive cibī); second declension

1. food, fodder

   Synonyms: annōna, cibāria, commeātus

   • c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca the Younger, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.2.3:

     Nōn prōdest cibus nec corporī accēdit quī statim sūmptus ēmittitur.

     Food provides no benefit nor joins with the body if it is immediately expelled.

2. nourishment, sustenance
3. (metonymic) meal

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cibus	cibī
genitive	cibī	cibōrum
dative	cibō	cibīs
accusative	cibum	cibōs
ablative	cibō	cibīs
vocative	cibe	cibī

Derived terms

• cibālis
• cibārius
• cibicida
• cibō

Related terms

• cibātiō
• cibātus

Descendants

• Insular Romance:
  • Sardinian: chibu, chivu (Nuorese), chiu, criu, cria (Logudorese), ciu, giu (Campidanian)
• Italo-Romance:
  • Italian: civo
  • Neapolitan: civo

    Abruzzo: /ˈt͡ʃajvə/, /ˈt͡ʃojvə/

  • Sicilian: civu
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Ladin: /ˈt͡ʃejf/ (Valgardena)
• Gallo-Italic:
  • San-Fratello Lombard: /ˈt͡sajf/
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Asturian: cebu
  • Galician: cebo
  • Portuguese: cevo
  • Spanish: cebo
• Borrowings:
  • → Italian: cibo
  • → Portuguese: cibo
  • → Romanian: cib
  • → Spanish: cibo

References

• Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1911), “cibus”, in Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), page 150
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “cēterus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 112
• Thurneysen 1907 (cf. WH).

Further reading

• “cibus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cibus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "cibus", 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)
• “cibus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to take food: cibum sumere, capere
    
  • to digest food: cibum concoquere, conficere
    
  • to be a great eater: multi cibi esse, edacem esse
    
  • to set food before a person: cibum apponere, ponere alicui
    
  • to take only enough food to support life: tantum cibi et potionis adhibere quantum satis est
    
  • delicacies: cibus delicatus
    
  • (ambiguous) to allay one's hunger, thirst: famem sitimque depellere cibo et potione
    
  • (ambiguous) to refresh oneself, minister to one's bodily wants: corpus curare (cibo, vino, somno)
    
  • (ambiguous) to abstain from all nourishment: cibo se abstinere