Translation
line of verse, verse; row, line
Examples
.
The poet wrote a verse.
.
The song has many lines.
.
There is great power in the verses.
dulces .
The poet's verses are sweet.
Versuum .
The number of verses was great.
Versus, versus, m., fourth declension, so the genitive singular and the nominative plural are both versus and only the ablative versu and the plural versuum, versibus stand out. It is not a second-declension noun, whatever the nominative suggests.
The word comes from verto: a versus is a turning, the point where the ploughman swings the team round at the end of a furrow. From the furrow came the row, and from the row the line of writing, then the line of poetry. Two traps. The perfect participle of verto is also versus, "turned", and there is a preposition versus, "towards", which follows its noun: Romam versus, "towards Rome". Context, not form, tells you which you have.
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versus: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Latin word "versus" (line of verse, verse; row, line): 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 part of lesson 6.