ambiguus

Latin

Etymology

From ambig(ō) (“wander; waver, hesitate”) +‎ -uus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /amˈbi.ɡu.us/, [ämˈbɪɡuʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /amˈbi.ɡu.us/, [ämˈbiːɡuːs]

Adjective

ambiguus (feminine ambigua, neuter ambiguum, adverb ambiguē); first/second-declension adjective

1. going two ways, hither and thither, moving from side-to-side
2. hybrid
3. changing, fluctuating, wavering
4. uncertain, doubtful, undecided, indecisive
5. (of discourse) obscure, ambiguous
6. (figuratively) wavering, not to be relied on, untrustworthy, unreliable, treacherous

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ambiguus	ambigua	ambiguum		ambiguī	ambiguae	ambigua
Genitive	ambiguī	ambiguae	ambiguī		ambiguōrum	ambiguārum	ambiguōrum
Dative	ambiguō		ambiguō		ambiguīs
Accusative	ambiguum	ambiguam	ambiguum		ambiguōs	ambiguās	ambigua
Ablative	ambiguō	ambiguā	ambiguō		ambiguīs
Vocative	ambigue	ambigua	ambiguum		ambiguī	ambiguae	ambigua

Derived terms

• ambiguē
• ambiguitās
• ambiguum

Related terms

• ambigō

Descendants

• Asturian: ambiguu
• Catalan: ambigu
• → English: ambiguous
• French: ambigu
  • → Dutch: ambigu
  • → German: ambig
• Italian: ambiguo
• Portuguese: ambíguo
• Romanian: ambiguu
• Sicilian: ammìguu
• Spanish: ambiguo

References

• “ambĭgŭus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ambiguus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ambiguus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • obsolete, ambiguous expressions: prisca, obsoleta (opp. usitata), ambigua verba