Conversus

Conversus is a Latin term that functions as both a perfect passive participle of converto and, in later Latin, as an adjective and a substantive. The verb converto means to turn, change, or transform, and conversus literally conveys the sense “turned” or “facing.” The masculine nominative singular form is conversus; feminine is conversa; neuter is conversum. As a participle, it agrees with the noun it modifies and can describe a physical orientation, a changed condition, or a resulting state, for example, in contexts describing something that has turned or been turned.

In ecclesiastical and medieval Latin, conversus also appears as a substantive meaning “a convert” — a person who has converted to Christianity. In this usage, the forms conversus, conversa, conversum can function as nouns, with plurals such as conversi or conversae in practice. The term is primarily of historical-linguistic interest in English-language sources and is not common in everyday Latin.

In modern usage, conversus may occur as a Latin loanword in scholarly discussions of grammar or as a proper name in fiction, place names, or surnames. There is no established concept named “conversus” outside linguistic and historical contexts, and its relevance today is largely scholarly or literary.