Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

fătua, ae, f., v. 1. and 2. fatuus.

1. fătŭus, a, um, adj. [root fa, cf. for; properly, garrulous], foolish, silly, simple (class.; syn.: stultus, stolidus, insipiens, desipiens, stupidus, hebes, ineptus, insulsus, absurdus).

  1. I. Adj.: ego me ipsum stultum existimo, fatuum esse non opinor, Afran. ap. Isid. Orig. 10, 246: stulti, stolidi. fatui, fungi, bardi, blenni, buccones, Plaut. Bacch. 5, 1, 2: fatuus est, insulsus, Ter. Eun. 5, 9, 49: non modo nequam et improbus, sed etiam fatuus et amens es, Cic. Deiot. 7, 21: monitor, id. de Or. 2, 24, 99: homo, Poët. ap. Cic. de Or. 2, 67, 274: puer, Cic. Att. 6, 6, 3: nisi plane fatui sint, id. Fin. 2, 22, 70: mores, Plaut. Trin. 2, 2, 18.
    1. B. Poet. transf.
      1. 1. Insipid, tasteless, of food: ut sapiant fatuae, fabrorum prandia, betae, Mart. 13, 13.
      2. 2. Awkward, clumsy, unwieldy: illa bipennem Insulsam et fatuam dextra tenebat, Juv. 6, 658.
  2. II. Subst.: fătŭus, i, m., and fătŭa, ae, f., a fool, simpleton, a jester, buffoon.
    1. A. In gen., one who acts foolishly: paene ecfregisti, fatue, foribus cardines, Plaut. Am. 4, 2, 6; Cat. 83, 2; Juv. 9, 8.
    2. B. Esp., kept by Romans of rank for their amusement: Harpasten, uxoris meae fatuam, scis hereditarium onus in domo mea remansisse … si quando fatuo delectari volo, me rideo, Sen. Ep. 50, 2; Lampr. Comm. 4, 3.
      Hence, fătŭe, adv., foolishly, absurdly: plerumque studio loquendi fatue modo accedendum, Quint. 6, 4, 8 dub. (Spald. and Zumpt, fatui); Tert. adv. Herm. 10; id. de Pat. 6.
      Hence,

2. Fātŭus, i. m., another name for the prophesying Faunus; also called Fātŭ-ellus; while his sister, Fauna, who prophesied to females, was also called Fātŭa and Fātŭella, Lact. 1, 22, 9; Arn. 5, 18; Macr. S. 1, 12; Mart. Cap. 2, § 167; Just. 43, 1; Plin. 27, 12, 83, § 117 (dub.; Jan. fatuos).