Cupiditati

Cupiditati is the dative singular form of Cupiditas, a Latin noun meaning desire, longing, appetite, or passion. The term covers a range from ordinary want to stronger, morally charged cravings, depending on context. In Latin literature, cupiditas is used to describe both natural desires and excessive or disordered ones, often with ethical or psychological overtones.

Etymologically, Cupiditas derives from cupere, to desire, and is related to the adjective cupidus, desirous. In classical writing, the concept appears in moral philosophy and rhetoric as a driver of action and a potential source of conflict between reason and appetite. In Christian Late Latin, cupiditas frequently takes on a more specific sense of concupiscence or unruly desire, aligning with theological discussions of virtue, grace, and the regulation of the will.

Grammatically, cupiditati functions as the indirect object in clauses using the dative case. The noun has related forms such as cupiditatis (genitive), cupiditatem (accusative), cupiditate (ablative), and plural cupiditates or cupiditatum in appropriate contexts. The dative form is common in constructions that express motive, purpose, or benefit, as in phrases describing what is desired or what is aimed at.

See also: cupiditas, epithumia, concupiscence, Augustine of Hippo, medieval and scholastic discussions of virtue and vice, Latin grammar.