improbus

Latin

Alternative forms

• inprobus

Etymology

From in- +‎ probus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈim.pro.bus/, [ˈɪmprɔbʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈim.pro.bus/, [ˈimprobus]

Adjective

improbus (feminine improba, neuter improbum, comparative improbior, superlative improbissimus, adverb improbē); first/second-declension adjective

1. excessive, immoderate, flagrant, impudent
2. greedy, wanton
3. wicked, immoral, impious, rude
4. shameless
5. indomitable
6. Given so many nuanced meanings of the word in context, varied understandings and translations of classical Latin may be possible, e.g.:
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.412:

     “Improbe Amor, quid nōn mortālia pectora cōgis?”

     “Indomitable Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
     “Wicked Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”
     “Wanton Love: What do you not compel [in] human hearts?”

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 2.331:

     noctis erat medium, quid nōn amor improbus audet?

     It was midnight – what doesn’t wanton desire dare?
     It was midnight – what doesn’t wicked lust dare?
     It was midnight – what doesn’t shameless passion dare?

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	improbus	improba	improbum		improbī	improbae	improba
Genitive	improbī	improbae	improbī		improbōrum	improbārum	improbōrum
Dative	improbō		improbō		improbīs
Accusative	improbum	improbam	improbum		improbōs	improbās	improba
Ablative	improbō	improbā	improbō		improbīs
Vocative	improbe	improba	improbum		improbī	improbae	improba

Derived terms

• improbulus

Descendants

• French: improbe
• Portuguese: ímprobo
• Spanish: ímprobo
• Italian: improbo

References

• “improbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “improbus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• improbus 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)
• improbus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the aristocracy (as a party in politics): boni cives, optimi, optimates, also simply boni (opp. improbi); illi, qui optimatium causam agunt