acus
Latin
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈa.kus/, [ˈäkʊs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈa.kus/, [ˈäːkus]
Etymology 1
From Proto-Italic *akus, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱus, from the root *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). Related to acuō (“sharpen, whet”) and aciēs (“edge”).[1]
Noun
acus f (genitive acūs); fourth declension
- a needle, a pin
- bodkin
Declension
Fourth-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | acus | acūs |
| Genitive | acūs | acuum |
| Dative | acuī | acibus |
| Accusative | acum | acūs |
| Ablative | acū | acibus |
| Vocative | acus | acūs |
Derived terms
- acia
- acuārius
- acūcula
- acula
- aculeus
- acuō
- acū pingō
- aquifolium
- foramen acūs
- rem acū tetigistī, acū tetigistī
Descendants
- Aromanian: ac
- Dalmatian: juac
- Istriot: ago
- Italian: ago
- Neapolitan: aco
- Northern-Italo Romance:
- Romagnol: êg m
- Romanian: ac
- Sardinian: àcu
Etymology 2
From Proto-Italic *akos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éḱos (“tip, bristle; ear/blade of grain, awn, chaff”), from the root *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”). Cognates include agna (“ear”) and Proto-Germanic *ahaz (“ear”), Proto-Germanic *aganō, *ahanō (“chaff”) (> English awn), Ancient Greek ἄχυρον (ákhuron) (> Greek άχυρο (áchyro, “hay”)), and Tocharian B āke (“tip, peak, end”).[1]
Noun
acus n (genitive aceris); third declension
- bran, awn, chaff
- Synonym: āplūda
Declension
Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | acus | acera |
| Genitive | aceris | acerum |
| Dative | acerī | aceribus |
| Accusative | acus | acera |
| Ablative | acere | aceribus |
| Vocative | acus | acera |
Derived terms
- acerātus
- acerōsus
References
- Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), “*h₂ek̂-”, in Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon [Nouns in the Indo-European Lexicon] (in German), Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter, page 287–300
- Ernout, Alfred; Meillet, Antoine (1985), “acus”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots (in French), with additions and corrections of Jacques André, 4th edition, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 7
- “acus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “acus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- acus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- acus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- you have hit the nail on the head: rem acu tetigisti
- you have hit the nail on the head: rem acu tetigisti
- “acus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “acus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin