iners

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *né

Proto-Indo-European *n̥-

Proto-Italic *n̥-

Latin in-

Proto-Indo-European *h₂er-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-tis

Proto-Indo-European *h₂értis ~ *h₂r̥téys

Proto-Italic *artis

Latin ars

Proto-Indo-European *-is

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂der.?

Proto-Italic *-is

Latin -is

Latin iners

From in- (“not”) + ars (“skill, art”) + -is (adjectival suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɪ.nɛrs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈiː.ners]

Adjective

iners (genitive inertis, comparative inertior, superlative inertissimus); third-declension one-termination adjective

1. without skill, unskilled, unskillful, incompetent, crude

   Synonyms: ineptus, rudis, indocilis, incapāx

   Antonyms: vafer, callidus

2. inactive, lazy, idle, indolent, sluggish, inert; worthless; stagnant

   Synonyms: dēses, sēgnis, piger, ignāvus, socors, murcidus, languidus

   Antonyms: vīvus, strēnuus, impiger, alacer, ācer

3. quiet, timid, tame, docile, spiritless, cowardly
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.158–159:

     [...] spūmantemque darī pecora inter inertia vōtīs
     optat aprum, aut fulvum dēscendere monte leōnem.

     [...] and that [Ascanius] — among such docile flocks — be given [an answer] to his prayers: [The boy] hopes for a foaming boar, or tawny lion to charge down the mountain.
     (So far, the hunters have seen wild goats and deer; Ascanius, in his youthful enthusiasm, wants more challenging game.)

4. (of food) without flavor, insipid

   Synonyms: īnsulsus, īnsipidus, fatuus

Declension

Third-declension one-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	iners			inertēs	inertia
genitive	inertis			inertium
dative	inertī			inertibus
accusative	inertem	iners		inertīs inertēs	inertia
ablative	inertī inerte			inertibus
vocative	iners			inertēs	inertia

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “unskillful”): artifex
• (antonym(s) of “unskillful”): sollers

Derived terms

• inersitūdō
• inertia
• inerticulus
• inerter

Descendants

• Catalan: inert
• → English: inert
• French: inerte
• → German: inert
• Galician: inerte
• Italian: inerte
• Portuguese: inerte
• Romanian: inert
• Spanish: inerte

References

• “iners”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “iners”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “iners”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.