absum

Latin

Etymology 1

From ab- (“from, away”) +‎ sum (“I am”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈab.sum/, [ˈäps̠ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈab.sum/, [ˈäbsum]

Verb

absum (present infinitive abesse, perfect active āfuī, future participle āfutūrus); irregular conjugation, irregular, no passive, no supine stem except in the future active participle

1. to be away, to be absent, to be distant

   Synonym: dēsum

   Antonyms: adsum, stō

   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.620:

     “‘Nusquam aberō, et tūtum patriō tē līmine sistam.’”

     “‘I will never be distant [from you], and will set you safe at your father's doorstep.’”
     (Venus reassures her son, Aeneas.)

2. (of length or time) to stretch, be away from, be distant from (with ab + ablatif)
   • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico libre I.chapter 43:

     Hic locus aequo fere spatio ab castris Ariovisti et Caesaris aberat.

     This position was placed at an almost equal distance from Ariovist's and Caesar's camp.

3. to be forbidden, be unpleasant, unwarranted for, vile
   • c. 672 CE – 735 CE, Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum libre I.capitulum 32:

     Si enim, quod absit, uerba eius postponitis, quando eum omnipotens Deus poterit audire pro uobis, quem uos neglegitis audire pro Deo?

     If in fact, and God forbid! you scorn his teachings, when God omnipotent were to hear him in your favor, would you neglect hearing him as messenger of our God?

Usage notes

• Regularized perfect and supine forms abfuī, abfutūrus etc. occur in Medieval Latin.

Conjugation

Conjugation of absum (highly irregular, suppletive, no supine stem except in the future active participle, active only)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	absum	abes	abest	absumus	abestis	absunt
	imperfect	aberam	aberās	aberat	aberāmus	aberātis	aberant
	future	aberō	aberis, abere	aberit	aberimus	aberitis	aberunt
	perfect	āfuī	āfuistī	āfuit	āfuimus	āfuistis	āfuērunt, āfuēre
	pluperfect	āfueram	āfuerās	āfuerat	āfuerāmus	āfuerātis	āfuerant
	future perfect	āfuerō	āfueris	āfuerit	āfuerimus	āfueritis	āfuerint
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	absim	absīs	absit	absīmus	absītis	absint
	imperfect	abessem, āforem	abessēs, āforēs	abesset, āforet	abessēmus, āforēmus	abessētis, āforētis	abessent, āforent
	perfect	āfuerim	āfuerīs	āfuerit	āfuerīmus	āfuerītis	āfuerint
	pluperfect	āfuissem	āfuissēs	āfuisset	āfuissēmus	āfuissētis	āfuissent
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	abes	—	—	abeste	—
	future	—	abestō	abestō	—	abestōte	absuntō
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		abesse	āfuisse	āfutūrum esse, āfore	—	—	—
participles		absēns	—	āfutūrus	—	—	—

Synonyms

• (I am away): longē sum

Descendants

• → Old High German: abawesen (calque)
  • German: abwesend
    • ⇒ German: Abwesenheit
• Norwegian Bokmål: abessiv

Etymology 2

Adjective

absum

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

Noun

absum

1. accusative singular of absus

References

• “absum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “absum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• absum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be far from town: longe, procul abesse ab urbe
    
  • to be not far away: prope (propius, proxime) abesse
    
  • he has been absent five years: quinque annos or sextum (iam) annum abest
    
  • to be quite uncivilised: ab omni cultu et humanitate longe abesse (B. G. 1. 1. 3)
    
  • God forbid: quod abominor! (procul absit!)
    
  • to be free from blame: abesse a culpa
    
  • to be almost culpable: prope abesse a culpa