Dictionary formostium, ostii(neuter)
Translation
door, entrance; mouth of a river
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Grammar
Cases
| Case | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominativethe subject | ostium | ostia |
| Vocativecalling someone: O ... | ostium | ostia |
| Accusativethe direct object; after ad, in (into), per | ostium | ostia |
| Genitiveof | ostii | ostiorum |
| Dativeto, for | ostio | ostiis |
| Ablativeby, with, from; after a, ab, cum, de, e, ex, in (in), sine | ostio | ostiis |
Examples
.
The door of the house was open.
.
He stood in front of the door for a long time.
.
He came in through the door.
.
The ship reached the mouth of the river.
.
They did not open the doors of the temple.
Ostium, ostii, n., second declension, from os, oris, "mouth". A doorway is the mouth of a building and a river mouth is a doorway to the sea, and Latin uses the one word for both without feeling it as a metaphor. Rome's port at the Tiber mouth is called Ostia for precisely that reason.
It overlaps with two neighbours. Ianua is the door itself, the physical leaf on its hinges; porta is a gate, of a city or a camp; ostium leans towards the opening, the entrance you pass through. Ecclesiastical Latin keeps it busy - the ostiarius, doorkeeper, was one of the minor orders of clergy for well over a millennium. One caution on the root: os, oris, "mouth" and os, ossis, "bone" are different words that share a nominative, and only the first is behind ostium.
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ostium: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "ostium" (door, entrance; mouth of a river): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 7, lesson 8: ostium, tollo, arcus and 6 more words.