tantus

Latin

Etymology

From tam (“so”) +‎ -tus (adjectival/adverbial ending); compare quantus, intus, subtus.

One alternate etymology supposes direct continuation from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂-n̥t-os.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.tus/, [ˈt̪än̪t̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtan.tus/, [ˈt̪än̪t̪us]

Adjective

tantus (feminine tanta, neuter tantum); first/second-declension adjective

1. of such size, of such measure
2. so much, so great, such, so many
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.33:

     Tantae mōlis erat Rōmānam condere gentem.

     Of such great effort was it to found the Roman people.
     or, It was so great a burden to found the Roman race.
     (The gods conspire and humans suffer to found what will become an empire; i.e., so great the effort, so great the achievement.)

Usage notes

• Being naturally an adjective, tantus was then used substantively as tantum (frequently with genitive) to mean "so much of", "so many of"; as tantī (pretiī) to mean "so high (a price)" [called the genitive of indefinite value]; adverbially as tantum to mean "so much", "to such degree" (cf. tam); as tantō to mean "by so much". For all these quantus has its coordinate functions.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	tantus	tanta	tantum		tantī	tantae	tanta
genitive	tantī	tantae	tantī		tantōrum	tantārum	tantōrum
dative	tantō	tantae	tantō		tantīs
accusative	tantum	tantam	tantum		tantōs	tantās	tanta
ablative	tantō	tantā	tantō		tantīs
vocative	tante	tanta	tantum		tantī	tantae	tanta

Derived terms

• prō tantō
• tantopere
• tantulus
• tantum
• tantus ... quantus (“as much ... as”)
• tantusdem

 

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Descendants

• Aragonese: tanto
• Asturian: tantu, tanto
• Catalan: tant
• Corsican: tantu
• Emilian: tant
• Extremaduran: tantu
• Old French: tant
  • French: tant
• Franco-Provençal: tant
• Friulian: tant
• English: tanto, tantamount
• Galician: tanto
• Interlingua: tanto
• Italian: tanto
• Ligurian: tànto
• Lombard: tant
• Megleno-Romanian: tăntu
• Navarro-Aragonese: tant
• Occitan: tant
• Piedmontese: tante, tant
• Old Galician-Portuguese: tanto
  • Portuguese: tanto
• Romagnol: tant
• Sicilian: tantu
• Old Spanish: tanto
  • Spanish: tanto
• Venetan: tanto
• Walloon: tant

References

• “tantus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tantus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tantus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the frost set in so severely that..: tanta vis frigoris insecuta est, ut
    
  • under such unfavourable circumstances: in tanta rerum (temporum) iniquitate
    
  • he had such an extraordinary memory that..: memoria tanta fuit, ut
    
  • (ambiguous) this much is certain: hoc (not tantum) certum est
    
  • (ambiguous) to take only enough food to support life: tantum cibi et potionis adhibere quantum satis est
    
  • (ambiguous) I will only say this much..: tantum or unum illud or hoc dico