carissimus

Latin

Etymology

carus +‎ -issimus

Adjective

cārissimus (superlative, feminine cārissima, neuter cārissimum); first/second declension

  1. superlative degree of cārus
  2. used as a term of endearment
    • c. 35 CE – 100 CE, Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria 9.2.34:
      Ut dicta autem quaedam, ita scrīpta quoque fingī solent, quod facit Asinius prō Liburniā: "māter mea, quae mihi cum cārissima tum dulcissima fuit […] "
      Just as certain speeches, writings are also sometimes imaginary, as for example Asinius does in his defence of Liburnia, "my mother, who was my dearest and most beloved […] "
    • 747 CE, Boniface, Epistulae 78, (quoted by Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources):
      propterea, carissimi, ... putamus vos libentius scire velle quam nescire
      therefore, my esteemed listeners, ... I think that you all prefer to know than not to know

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

singular plural
masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
nominative cārissimus cārissima cārissimum cārissimī cārissimae cārissima
genitive cārissimī cārissimae cārissimī cārissimōrum cārissimārum cārissimōrum
dative cārissimō cārissimae cārissimō cārissimīs
accusative cārissimum cārissimam cārissimum cārissimōs cārissimās cārissima
ablative cārissimō cārissimā cārissimō cārissimīs
vocative cārissime cārissima cārissimum cārissimī cārissimae cārissima

References

  • "carissimus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • my dear father: pater optime or carissime, mi pater (vid. sect. XII. 10)
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