The corpus record — Latin

Orcus

Orcus · m

the Lower World

Generated live from the audited Latin corpus — every figure on this page is a database query, not prose from memory.

Where it lives

Carmina 8 · 6.02/10k
Epidicus 2 · 3.07/10k
Hecyra 2 · 2.22/10k
In Rufinum 1 · 1.75/10k
Antoninus Heliogabalus 1 · 1.73/10k
Metamorphoses 9 · 1.69/10k
Georgicon 2 · 1.41/10k
Satyricon 4 · 1.31/10k
Nero 1 · 1.28/10k
Asinaria 1 · 1.24/10k
Captivi 1 · 1.16/10k
Aeneid 7 · 1.11/10k

Densest 12 of 39 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. Orcus — Lewis & Short

Orcus, i, m.kindr. with e(/rkos and the Lat. urgeo: Orcum quem dicimus, ait Verrius ab antiquis dictum uragum, Fest. p. 202 Müll.—Hence, prop., that which impels, constrains, confines.

I the Lower World, the abode of the dead, Orcus: Acherunsia templa alta Orci, salvete infera, Enn. ap. Varr. L. L. 7, § 6 Müll. (Trag. v. 107 Vahl.); Lucr. 1, 115; 6, 762: Minos sedet arbiter Orci, Prop. 4, 18, 27; Verg. A. 6, 273. —

II Transf.

A The god of the infernal regions, Orcus, Pluto: Orcus recipere ad se hanc noluit, Plaut. Ps. 3, 2, 6: bene vale, apud Orcum te videbo, id. As. 3, 3, 16: ut Verres alter Orcus, venisse Ennam, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 50, § 111: pallidus, Verg. G. 1, 277.—

B Death (mostly poet.): horriferis accibant vocibus Orcum, Lucr. 5, 996; Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 178: Orcum morari, to hesitate to die, id. C. 3, 27, 50: rapacis Orci fine destinatā, id. ib. 2, 18, 30: cum Orco rationem habere, to risk one's life, Varr. R. R. 1, 4: janua haec Orci, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 1, 1.

2. Orcus — Walde–Hofmann

Orcus, -; m. (Uragus fl. Urg-?] Verr. bei Fest. p. 202) , Todesgottheit, Unterwelt, Reich der Toten" (seit Ter., rom.; Orcinus, -a, -um „auf den O, bezüglich“ seit Labeo, t. t. iur. orcini liberti nach dem Tode des Herrn durch Testament freigelassen“, EN. Orciniänus Mart): da Orcws „Unterwelt“ älter ist als Orcus „Todesgott“ (Orci fauces bezeichnete wie mundus einen Erdspalt als Eingang zur Unterwelt), vl nach … — [Walde–Hofmann, s.v. Orcus, p. 1127]

In the wild

Orcus Horace, Epistulae 2.2.178
Orcus Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum index.p211
Orci Catullus, Carmina lyrics.3.14
Orcus Cicero, de Natura Deorum 3.44
Orci Apuleius, Metamorphoses 3.9
Orci Plautus, Bacchides 3.1

6 of 74 attestations shown.

Where it came from

Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine Treated in Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine s.v. Orcus (scan p. 491; entry #7951).
Walde-Hofmann, Lateinisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Walde-Hofmann, Lateinisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. Orcus (scan p. 1127; entry #1901). Root candidates: *areg-.

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Latin text and lemmatization derived from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit), CC BY-SA 4.0. Lewis & Short (public domain) via Perseus. This derived data is shared under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 license.