lacertus

English

Alternative forms

lacert

Etymology

From Late Latin lacertus (“muscle”), from Classical Latin lacertus (“upper arm”), possibly from lacerta (“lizard”). Compare muscle, derived from a supposed resemblance to little mice.

Noun

lacertus (plural lacerti)

(anatomy) A bundle or fascicle of muscular fibres.

References

lacertus in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
"lacert, n.²", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Latin

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /laˈker.tus/, [ɫaˈkɛr.tʊs]

Etymology 1

Lacertus

Uncertain.

Noun

lacertus m (genitive lacertī); second declension (feminine lacerta)

Alternative form of lacerta: a lizard.

Inflection

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lacertus	lacertī
Genitive	lacertī	lacertōrum
Dative	lacertō	lacertīs
Accusative	lacertum	lacertōs
Ablative	lacertō	lacertīs
Vocative	lacerte	lacertī

Etymology 2

Lacertus

Uncertain. Possibly from lacerta (“lizard”), as musculus derived from a supposed resemblance to little mice; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hlak-, *lēk- (“leg, q.v.”)

Noun

lacertus m (genitive lacertī); second declension

(anatomy) The muscular part of the upper arm, including the shoulder, biceps, and triceps.
(anatomy) The arm.
(anatomy, Late Latin) A muscle.

Inflection

Second declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lacertus	lacertī
Genitive	lacertī	lacertōrum
Dative	lacertō	lacertīs
Accusative	lacertum	lacertōs
Ablative	lacertō	lacertīs
Vocative	lacerte	lacertī

Related terms

lacerō
lacertōsus
lacertulus

References

lacertus in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
lacertus in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
lacertus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
"lacert, n.²", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.