litus

Latin

Alternative forms

• littus

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to flow”), whence perhaps Lithuania. De Vaan is unconvinced, and prefers a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *leyt-os- (“going”) (with sense development "going away" > "end, side" > "seashore, coast"), from *leyt- (“to go, depart”), whence Tocharian B litā- (“to pass on”), Avestan 𐬌𐬭𐬌𐬚𐬌𐬌𐬈𐬌𐬙𐬌 (ⁱriθiieⁱti, “to die, pass away”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌸𐌰𐌽 (galeiþan, “to depart, go forth”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈliː.tus/, [ˈlʲiːt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈli.tus/, [ˈliːt̪us]

Noun

lītus n (genitive lītoris); third declension

1. strand, shore, beach
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.27:

     ... juvat ire et Dorica castra desertosque videre locos litusque relictum.

     ... it was a delight to walk through the Doric camp and to see the deserted places and the abandoned shore.

Usage notes

N.B. The difference between ora and litus is that ora denotes a coast simply as a border, whereas litus refers exclusively to the sea-coast.

Declension

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

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lītus	lītora
Genitive	lītoris	lītorum
Dative	lītorī	lītoribus
Accusative	lītus	lītora
Ablative	lītore	lītoribus
Vocative	lītus	lītora

Derived terms

• lītorālis
• lītoreus

Descendants

• Corsican: lidu
• Italian: lido (obsolete lito)
• Sicilian: litu
• Venetian: lido (obsolete lio)

See also

• acta

References

• “litus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “litus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• litus 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)
• litus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be stranded: in litus eici (B. G. 5. 10)
    
  • to land (of people): appellere navem (ad terram, litus)
    
  • to keep the coast and harbours in a state of blockade: litora ac portus custodia clausos tenere