gratus

Gratus is a Latin adjective meaning pleasing, agreeable, or welcome. It can also convey a sense of gratitude or thankfulness when used in expressions tied to thanks and favor. The word lies at the root of several related Latin forms and has given rise to a number of derivatives in English and other languages, such as grateful and gratitude, as well as related terms in romance languages.

In classical Latin usage, gratus agrees with the noun it describes in gender and number, and it is often employed with a dative to indicate who is pleased. A common construction is hoc mihi grātum est, literally “this is pleasing to me.” The opposite form is ingratus, meaning ungrateful or unpleasing. The root grāt- also produces compounds such as congrātus (fit, proper) and gratia (grace, favor, thanks), the latter giving rise to words like gratitude and grateful, and to phrases such as gratiās agere, “to give thanks.”

Gratus is attested as a Latin root in personal names and inscriptions, where it appears as a given name or part of compound names. In medieval and later contexts, it has sometimes been preserved in Latinized forms or used in religious and scholarly writings. In modern English, the direct use of gratus as a word is rare outside linguistic or historical discussions; the concept survives primarily through its derivatives, such as grateful and gratitude, and through related terms in discussions of etiquette, grace, or thanks.

In summary, gratus denotes something pleasing or welcome, with strong ties to gratitude and grace, and it continues to inform related words and forms in Latin-derived languages.