campus

Traditionally, from Proto-Italic *kampos, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂ém-po-s, from *kh₂emp- (“to bend, curve; smooth”), making it an exact cognate of Lithuanian kam̃pas (“corner”) and Ancient Greek καμπ-(kamp-, “bend”). Compare camur (“curved, bent”) for the root without a -p- suffix.

Alternatively, perhaps an agricultural term borrowed from a substrate language; this would explain the irregular correspondences between Latin and Greek.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkam.pus/, [ˈkämpʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkam.pus/, [ˈkämpus]

Noun

campus m (genitive campī); second declension

1. Open flat level ground: a plain, a natural field. [ quotations ▼]

   Campus Mārtius ― The Field of Mars

2. (literary) Any flat or level surface. [ quotations ▼]
3. The comitia centuriāta, which met on the Campus Mārtius.
4. A field of action: scope.
5. A field of debate: a topic.
6. An opportunity.
7. The produce of a field.
8. (New Latin) The campus of a university, college, or business.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	campus	campī
Genitive	campī	campōrum
Dative	campō	campīs
Accusative	campum	campōs
Ablative	campō	campīs
Vocative	campe	campī