Crescit cum commercio civitas
“The city grows with commerce.”
Latin motto
What does “Crescit cum commercio civitas” mean?
Crescit cum commercio civitas translates as “The city grows with commerce.”
Trade and exchange make a community prosper; a city thrives when goods, people and ideas move freely. It celebrates honest business as a civic good.
“Crescit cum commercio civitas” word by word
| Latin | English | Grammar |
|---|---|---|
| Crescit | it grows | third person singular present active indicative of cresco, “I grow” |
| cum | with | preposition taking the ablative case |
| commercio | commerce, trade | ablative singular neuter of commercium, “trade, dealings”; the ablative follows cum |
| civitas | the city, the community | nominative singular feminine of civitas, “state, city, body of citizens”; the subject of the verb |
How to pronounce “Crescit cum commercio civitas”
The two differ in crescit (KRAY-skit vs KREH-shit), the c in commercio and the first c and v in civitas. In both, stress the second-to-last syllable of commercio and the first syllable of civitas.
The story behind it
Word for word the line says “the city grows with commerce”. The verb crescit is “it grows”, and cum commercio is “together with trade”: the city and its trade rise side by side.
The line is a motto, and its source is not a known classical author. Its wording and its civic theme point to a modern composition in Latin rather than a quotation from Rome.
The idea itself is old. Ancient Mediterranean cities such as Rome, Carthage and Corinth owed much of their wealth to ports and markets, so a motto of this kind fits commercial and civic institutions well.
How to use “Crescit cum commercio civitas”
A natural fit for a chamber of commerce, a market hall, a business school, a trade association or a city’s economic development pages. It also works as a motto for a small business that wants to link its success to its home town.
- Latin
- Crescit cum commercio civitas
- English
- The city grows with commerce.
- Source
- Latin motto
- Era
- Modern Latin
- Theme
- Money
Common mistakes
- Do not present it as a classical Roman saying. It is a modern Latin motto, and no ancient author is known to have written it.
- civitas is the subject, not an object. Writing civitatem here would be wrong, as that is the accusative form.
- commercio must stay in the ablative after cum. Changing it to commercium or commercii breaks the grammar.
- civitas means a city as a community of citizens rather than the buildings. For the physical town, urbs is the usual Latin word.
Questions about “Crescit cum commercio civitas”
What does “Crescit cum commercio civitas” mean literally?
“The city grows with commerce.” Crescit is “it grows”, cum commercio is “with trade”, and civitas is the city or community of citizens.
Who said “Crescit cum commercio civitas”?
No ancient author is known. It is a Latin motto, apparently a modern composition, so it should not be credited to a Roman writer.
How do you pronounce “Crescit cum commercio civitas”?
Classical: KRAY-skit koom kom-MAIR-kee-oh KIH-wih-tahs. Church Latin: KREH-shit koom kom-MAIR-chee-oh CHEE-vee-tahs.
Is “Crescit cum commercio civitas” correct Latin for a motto?
Yes. The grammar is sound: a verb, cum with the ablative, and a nominative subject. The word order, with civitas last, is a common stylish choice in Latin.
More to explore
Translation and grammar checked by Latin Quoter · last reviewed November 2026
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