[ˈwɛ.tʊs], [ˈvɛː.tus]
OrigoFrom Proto-Italic *wetos (“year”), from Proto-Indo-European *wétos (“year”) with a semantic shift of year > having accumulated (many) years > aged, old, with the Latin term for year being annus, from a different root.
Cognates include Sanskrit वत्स (vatsá, “year; calf”), Ancient Greek ἔτος (étos), Albanian vjet, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌸𐍂𐌿𐍃 (wiþrus, “one-year-old lamb”), Old Church Slavonic ветъхъ (vetŭxŭ, “old, aged, ancient”), Russian ве́тхий (vétxij, “old, aged”), Lithuanian vẽtušas and Proto-Celtic *wetsis (Middle Irish feis, Cornish gwis, both “sow that has already given birth” < “from last year”), Etruscan 𐌅𐌄𐌕𐌖𐌔 (vetus).
- declension-3, one-terminationold, aged, elderly, ancient
- declension-3, one-terminationlong-standing
- declension-3, one-terminationformer, previous
“Ea tum cura maxime intentos habebat Romanos, non ab ira tantum, quae in nullam unquam civitatem iustior fuit, quam quod urbs tam nobilis ac potens, sicut defectione sua traxerat aliquot populos, ita r” — This concern in particular troubled the mindful Romans at the time, not so much because of anger, which has never been more justified against any other city, rather because a city so noble and powerfu
Formaeveteris(genitive) · vetustior(comparative) · veterior(comparative) · vetustissimus(superlative) · veterrimus(superlative) · vetus(feminine, masculine, neuter, nominative, singular) · veterēs(feminine, masculine, nominative, plural) · vetera(neuter, nominative, plural) · veteris(feminine, genitive, masculine, neuter, singular) · veterum(feminine, genitive, masculine, neuter, plural) · veterī(dative, feminine, masculine, neuter, singular) · veteribus(dative, feminine, masculine, neuter, plural) · veterem(accusative, feminine, masculine, singular) · vetus(accusative, neuter, singular) · veterīs(accusative, feminine, masculine, plural) · veterēs(accusative, feminine, masculine, plural) · vetera(accusative, neuter, plural) · vetere(ablative, feminine, masculine, neuter, singular) · veteribus(ablative, feminine, masculine, neuter, plural) · vetus(feminine, masculine, neuter, singular, vocative)