dedecus

Latin

Etymology

From dē (“from, away or down from”) + decus (“glory, honor, dignity”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈdeː.dɛ.kʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈdɛː.de.kus]

Noun

dēdecus n (genitive dēdecoris); third declension

1. disgrace, dishonor, infamy, shame, discredit.

   Synonym: dehonestāmentum

   Antonyms: faciēs, pulchritūdō, decor, decus

   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 4.25:

     Tum nostrī cohortātī inter sē, nē tantum dēdecus admitterētur, ūniversī ex nāvī dēsiluērunt.

     Then our men, having urged amongst themselves that no such awful dishonor should be incurred, leapt from the ship all together.
     (This passage illustrates the Roman concept of collective honor: the dēdecus, or disgrace, of losing the legionary eagle to the enemy.)

2. That which causes shame; a disgrace, blot, blemish.
3. A shameful act; vice, turpitude.
4. indecency

Declension

Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).

	singular	plural
nominative	dēdecus	dēdecora
genitive	dēdecoris	dēdecorum
dative	dēdecorī	dēdecoribus
accusative	dēdecus	dēdecora
ablative	dēdecore	dēdecoribus
vocative	dēdecus	dēdecora

Related terms

• dēdecorāmentum
• dēdecorātiō
• dēdecorātor
• dēdecorō
• dēdecorōsus

References

• “dedecus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “dedecus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "dedecus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “dedecus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.