foedus

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfoe̯.dus/, [ˈfoe̯d̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfe.dus/, [ˈfɛːd̪us]

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Italic *feiðos (“faithful”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ-os, from *bʰeydʰ- (“to trust”). Same root as fīdō, fidēs, fīdus, and Proto-Germanic *bīdaną. Perhaps a corruption from an o-stem.

Noun

foedus n (genitive foederis); third declension

1. (among nations, states, or rulers) treaty, compact, alliance, truce, league

   Synonym: conventum

   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita I.1:

     Inde foedus ictum inter duces

     Then a treaty being made between the commanders

2. (among individuals) agreement, bond, contract, compact, pact, pledge, conditions, terms
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.338–339:

     “[...] Nec coniugis umquam / praetendī taedās, aut haec in foedera vēnī.”

     “Nor did I ever extend the wedding-torches of a bridegroom, or enter into these bonds [with you].”

3. (biblical) covenant

Declension

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

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	foedus	foedera
Genitive	foederis	foederum
Dative	foederī	foederibus
Accusative	foedus	foedera
Ablative	foedere	foederibus
Vocative	foedus	foedera

Derived terms

• confoedustus
• foederātus
• foederō
• foedifragus

Descendants

• ⇒ English: federal, foedus rerum
• ⇒ French: fédéral, fédérale
• ⇒ Spanish: federal
• ⇒ Portuguese: federal

Etymology 2

From Proto-Italic *foiðos (“afraid”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to frighten; be afraid”).

Adjective

foedus (feminine foeda, neuter foedum, comparative foedior, superlative foedissimus, adverb foedē); first/second-declension adjective

1. (physically) filthy, foul, disgusting, loathsome, ugly, unseemly, detestable, abominable, horrible

   Synonyms: nefandus, turpis

2. (mentally) disgraceful, vile, obscene, base, horrible, dreadful, dishonorable, shameful, infamous, foul
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.195:

     Haec passim dea foeda virum diffundit in ōra.

     The disgraceful goddess scatters these [tales] here and there into the mouths of men.
     (The goddess: Fama or Rumor personified.)

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	foedus	foeda	foedum		foedī	foedae	foeda
Genitive	foedī	foedae	foedī		foedōrum	foedārum	foedōrum
Dative	foedō		foedō		foedīs
Accusative	foedum	foedam	foedum		foedōs	foedās	foeda
Ablative	foedō	foedā	foedō		foedīs
Vocative	foede	foeda	foedum		foedī	foedae	foeda

Derived terms

• foeditās
• foedo

Descendants

• Asturian: feu
• Italian: fedo
• Old Galician-Portuguese: feo
  • Galician: feo
  • Portuguese: feio
• Spanish: feo

Further reading

• “foedus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “foedus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• foedus 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)
• foedus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to conclude a treaty, an alliance: foedus facere (cum aliquo), icere, ferire
    
  • to violate a treaty, terms of alliance: foedus frangere, rumpere, violare
    
  • (ambiguous) according to treaty: ex pacto, ex foedere
    
• “foedus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “foedus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin