summum

See also: Summum and súmmum

Faroese

Pronoun

summum

1. dative of summur: some

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin summum.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɔ.mɔm/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

Noun

summum m (plural summums)

1. (figurative) summit, apogee, acme
   • 2024 May 25, “Couples Erasmus”, in Libération, →ISSN, page 5:

     Je devais accompagner à une soirée une copine espagnole qui en pinçait pour un Irlandais qui parlait danois, ce qui pour nous, à l’époque, était le summum de l’intégration.

     I had to go to a party with a Spanish friend who had a crush on an Irishman who spoke Danish, which for us, at the time, was the height of multiculturalism.

Further reading

• “summum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Etymology

Noun use of neuter of summus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈsum.mum/, [ˈs̠ʊmːʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈsum.mum/, [ˈsumːum]

Noun

summum n (genitive summī); second declension

1. top
2. summit

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	summum	summa
genitive	summī	summōrum
dative	summō	summīs
accusative	summum	summa
ablative	summō	summīs
vocative	summum	summa

Descendants

• Catalan: súmmum
• Old French: som, somet
  • English: summit
  • French: sommet
• Spanish: somo, súmmum

Adjective

summum

1. inflection of summus:
   1. accusative masculine singular
   2. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular

References

• “summum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• summum 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)
• summum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) a gentle ascent: collis leniter ab infimo acclivis (opp. leniter a summo declivis)
    
  • (ambiguous) the surface of the water: summa aqua
    
  • (ambiguous) in the height of summer, depth of winter: summa aestate, hieme
    
  • (ambiguous) the position is very critical: res in summo discrimine versatur
    
  • (ambiguous) to be entirely destitute; to be a beggar: in summa egestate or mendicitate esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to be bound by the closest ties of friendship: artissimo amicitiae vinculo or summa familiaritate cum aliquo coniunctum esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to be in a dignified position: dignitas est summa in aliquo
    
  • (ambiguous) to be in a dignified position: summa dignitate praeditum esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to praise, extol, commend a person: (maximis, summis) laudibus efferre aliquem or aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) to have reached the highest pinnacle of eminence: summa gloria florere
    
  • (ambiguous) to bring to the highest perfection: ad summum perducere
    
  • (ambiguous) to attain perfection: ad perfectionem, (ad summum) pervenire
    
  • (ambiguous) ideal perfection: absolutio et perfectio (not summa perfectio)
    
  • (ambiguous) to be an ardent student of..: summo studio in litteris versari
    
  • (ambiguous) to possess rich mental endowments: summo ingenio praeditum esse
    
  • (ambiguous) unanimously: uno, communi, summo or omnium consensu (Tusc. 1. 15. 35)
    
  • (ambiguous) the learned men are most unanimous in..: summa est virorum doctissimorum consensio (opp. dissensio)
    
  • (ambiguous) a master-piece of classical work: opus summo artificio[TR1] factum
    
  • (ambiguous) to depict a thing in lively colours: summo colore aliquid illustrare
    
  • (ambiguous) to consider virtue the highest good: summum bonum in virtute ponere
    
  • (ambiguous) to honour the gods with all due ceremonial (very devoutly): deum rite (summa religione) colere
    
  • (ambiguous) to stand in very intimate relations to some one: summa necessitudine aliquem contingere
    
  • (ambiguous) to be in severe pecuniary straits: in summa difficultate nummaria versari (Verr. 2. 28. 69)
    
  • (ambiguous) the welfare of the state: summa res publica (or summa rei publicae)
    
  • (ambiguous) of high rank: summo loco natus
    
  • (ambiguous) high and low: summi (et) infimi (Rep. 1. 34. 53)
    
  • (ambiguous) to proceed against some one with the utmost rigour of the law; to strain the law in one's favour: summo iure agere cum aliquo (cf. summum ius, summa iniuria)
    
  • (ambiguous) the command-in-chief: summa belli, imperii (B. G. 2. 4. 7)
    
  • (ambiguous) the position is critical: res est in periculo, in summo discrimine
    
  • (ambiguous) deep peace: summa pax
    
  • (ambiguous) legitimately; with the fullest right: optimo iure (cf. summo iure, sect. XV. 1).
    

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin summum.

Noun

summum n (uncountable)

1. summit

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	summum	summumul
genitive-dative	summum	summumului
vocative	summumule

Spanish

Noun

summum m (plural summums)

1. summit; apogee

Further reading

• “summum”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10