English

Noun

pons ‎(plural pontes)

1. (anatomy) A bridge-like tissue connecting two parts of an organ
2. (anatomy) A band of nerve fibres, the pons Varolii, within the brain stem

Holonyms

• brain stem

Translations

Related terms

• pontine

Anagrams

• nops

Catalan

Verb

pons

1. second-person singular present indicative form of pondre

Cornish

Noun

pons m ‎(plural ponsow)

1. bridge

Latin

pōns (bridge)

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *pónteh₁s ‎(“path, road”), from *pent- ‎(“path”). Cognate with Sanskrit पथिन् ‎(páthin), Ancient Greek πόντος ‎(póntos), Old Armenian հուն ‎(hun, “riverbed”), and Old English findan (English find).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /pons/, [põːs]

Noun

pōns m ‎(genitive pontis); third declension

1. A bridge, a construction or natural feature that spans a divide.
   • 100 BCE – 44 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 6.6

     Caesar partitis copiis cum Gaio Fabio legato et Marco Crasso quaestore celeriterque effectis pontibus adit tripertito, aedificia vicosque incendit, magno pecoris atque hominum numero potitur.

     Caesar, having divided his forces with C. Fabius, his lieutenant, and M. Crassus his questor, and having hastily constructed some bridges, enters their country in three divisions, burns their houses and villages, and gets possession of a large number of cattle and men.

Inflection

Third declension i-stem.

Derived terms

• pons Varolii (brain stem)
• pons asinorum
• ponticulus
• pontifex

Descendants

See also

• pontus

References

• pons in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• pons in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• PONS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “pons”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to build a bridge over a river: pontem facere in flumine
    
  • to build a bridge over a river: inicere pontem
    
  • there is a bridge over the river: pons est in flumine
    
  • to break down a bridge: pontem dissolvere, rescindere, interscindere (B. G. 2. 9. 4)
    
  • (ambiguous) to build a bridge over a river: flumen ponte iungere
    
• pons in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pons in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, pages 479-480