Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Tarquinius Superbus

Tarquinius Superbus

9.9
The seventh and last king of Rome who people drove out for being cruel
  • proper noun
  • Literature
: Tarquinius Superbus
  • The tyrannical rule of Tarquinius Superbus led to the founding of the Roman Republic.

Examples

  • According to Roman tradition, Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown and driven into exile.

  • The last king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus.

  • Historians often debate the actual existence of Tarquinius Superbus.

  • Did Tarquinius Superbus really reign for 24 years?

  • According to Roman tradition, Tarquinius Superbus was overthrown and driven into exile.

  • The tyrannical rule of Tarquinius Superbus led to the founding of the Roman Republic.

  • Historians often debate the actual existence of Tarquinius Superbus.

Synonyms

Tarquinius
vsTarquinius Superbus
  • Literature
1 9.9

A king from legend who was the seventh and last Etruscan ruler of Rome, expelled for cruelty

is the more common English short name instead of the Latin family form
Tarquin
vsTarquinius Superbus
  • Literature
1 9.9

The seventh and last king of ancient Rome who ruled cruelly and was forced to leave

is the full Latinized formal version rather than the short form
Tarquin the Proud
vsTarquinius Superbus
  • Literature
1 9.9

A cruel early king of Rome who was overthrown

is the plain name without the extra descriptive epithet
Lucius Tarquinius Superbus
vsTarquinius Superbus
9.9

The last king of Rome who ruled cruelly and lost his throne

is the standard historical name without the full personal styling

Surface Forms

Tarquinius Superbus main

Morphology

Tarquinius + Superbus

This is a proper name for a specific historical figure, so its referential meaning (the seventh and last king of Rome expelled for cruelty) cannot be derived from the parts. The second element 'Superbus' is a Latin epithet (meaning roughly 'proud') and is not a familiar English lexical item for a B1 learner, so even knowledge of the constituents would not yield the full historical/biographical sense.

Etymology

Tarquinius Superbus may come from Latin, where Superbus means 'proud' or 'arrogant'. One popular story says he was the last king of Rome, ruled harshly and was driven out, so his name now brings to mind a proud, cruel ruler and the moment Rome became a republic.