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Webster 1913 Edition
Cereus
‖
Ce′re-us
,Noun.
[L., a wax candle, fr.
cera
wax. So named from the resemblance of one species to the columnar shape of a wax candle.] (Bot.)
A genus of plants of the Cactus family. They are natives of America, from California to Chili.
☞ Although several species flower in the night, the name
Night-blooming cereus
is specially applied to the Cereus grandiflorus
, which is cultivated for its beautiful, shortlived flowers. The Cereus giganteus
, whose columnar trunk is sometimes sixty feet in height, is a striking feature of the scenery of New Mexico, Texas, etc. Definition 2024
Cereus
Cereus
See also: cereus
Translingual
Proper noun
Cereus m
- A taxonomic genus within the family Cactaceae – certain columnar cactuses.
- A taxonomic genus within the family Sagartiidae – certain sea anemones.
Hypernyms
- (cactus genus): Plantae - kingdom; angiosperms, eudicots, core eudicots - clades; Caryophyllales - order; Cactaceae - family; Cactoideae - subfamily; Cereeae - tribe; Cereinae - subtribe
- (anemone genus): Animalia - kingdom, Cnidaria - phylum, Anthozoa - class, Hexacorallia - subclass, Actiniaria - order, Nyantheae - suborder, Thenaria - infraorder, Acontiaria - subinfraorder, Sagartiidae - family
Hyponyms
- (cactus genus): Cactus subg. Cereus, Cactus subg. Ebneria, Cactus subg. Mirabella, Cactus subg. Oblongicarpi - subgenera. See
Cereus (Cactaceae) on Wikispecies.Wikispecies for the very numerous species. - (anemone genus): See
Cereus (anemone) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia for species.
cereus
cereus
See also: Cereus
English
Noun
cereus (plural cereuses)
- Any of the genus Cereus of plants of the cactus family, natives to the Americas, from California to Chile.
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology 1
From cēra (“wax”).
Adjective
cēreus m (feminine cērea, neuter cēreum); first/second declension
- Of wax, waxen.
- Of the colour of wax.
- Of the properties of wax; soft, pliant.
- (figuratively) Easily moved, swayed or persuaded.
Inflection
First/second declension.
| Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| nominative | cēreus | cērea | cēreum | cēreī | cēreae | cērea | |
| genitive | cēreī | cēreae | cēreī | cēreōrum | cēreārum | cēreōrum | |
| dative | cēreō | cēreō | cēreīs | ||||
| accusative | cēreum | cēream | cēreum | cēreōs | cēreās | cērea | |
| ablative | cēreō | cēreā | cēreō | cēreīs | |||
| vocative | cēree | cērea | cēreum | cēreī | cēreae | cērea | |
Derived terms
- cēreolus
Descendants
- Italian: cereo
Etymology 2
Substantive from cēreus (“waxen”).
Noun
cēreus m (genitive cēreī); second declension
- A wax taper or light, particularly those that were brought by clients to their patrons as presents at the time of the Saturnalia.
Inflection
Second declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | cēreus | cēreī |
| genitive | cēreī | cēreōrum |
| dative | cēreō | cēreīs |
| accusative | cēreum | cēreōs |
| ablative | cēreō | cēreīs |
| vocative | cēree | cēreī |
Related terms
Descendants
References
- cereus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- cereus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- CEREUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “cereus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- cereus in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers