English

Noun

sestertius ‎(plural sestertii)

1. A large bronze or (rarely) small silver coin minted during the Roman Republic and Empire, valued at two and a half asses.

Synonyms

• sesterce

Translations

Latin

Alternative forms

• HS (symbol)

Etymology

From sēmis ‎(“half”) + tertius ‎(“third”), due to its value in asses.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /seːsˈter.ti.us/, [seːsˈtɛr.ti.ʊs]

Noun

sēstertius m ‎(genitive sēstertiī); second declension

1. sesterce (small coin worth 2 and a half asses)
2. two and a half (only in certain phrases)

Usage notes

Four sesterces were equal to one denarius, and a hundred sesterces to one aureus. Although there were larger coins in the empire, many large prices were calculated in sesterces instead.

When a distributive numeral is used in front of the neuter plural sēstertia, it is read as that many thousands of sesterces. When a numeral adverb is used in front of the genitive plural sēstertium, it is read as that many hundred thousands of sesterces.

Synonyms

• nummus

Inflection

Second declension.

Descendants

• English: sesterce

References

• sestertius in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• sestertius in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “sestertius”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• sestertius in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• sestertius in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin