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difficultas

Difficultas is a feminine noun in Latin meaning difficulty, trouble, obstacle, or complexity. It is formed from the adjective difficilis with the abstract-noun suffix -tas, yielding a general term for what hinders or perplexes. The standard form is difficultas with the genitive difficultatis, and it belongs to the third declension.

In classical usage, difficultas covers both practical hindrances and cognitive or perceptual challenges. It can refer

In later Latin, including Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, difficultas often appears in scholastic and argumentative

Related terms in Latin include difficilis (difficult) and facilitas (ease or facility), which form part of a

See also: difficulty, difficilis, facilitas, Latin language, Latin grammar.

to
difficulties
in
action
or
execution,
as
well
as
the
difficulty
of
understanding
a
concept
or
argument.
In
religious,
legal,
philosophical,
and
rhetorical
texts,
difficultas
may
denote
an
unresolved
question,
a
doctrinal
problem,
or
a
point
requiring
justification.
Phrases
expressing
negation
of
trouble,
such
as
nulla
difficultas,
convey
the
sense
of
“there
is
no
difficulty.”
contexts
as
a
term
for
a
problem
to
be
solved
or
a
challenge
to
be
overcome.
The
term
has
given
rise
to
a
range
of
Romance-language
cognates
in
meaning
and
form,
such
as
the
French
difficulté
and
the
Spanish
dificultad,
all
ultimately
tracing
to
Latin
difficultas
or
its
related
adjective
difficultis.
broader
semantic
field
around
hindrance
and
ease.
In
modern
usage,
difficultas
underpins
discussions
of
problems,
obstacles,
and
complexity
in
Latin-language
studies
and
in
translations
of
ancient
and
medieval
texts.