arsineum

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps from Ancient Greek *ἀρσινόειον (*arsinóeion), from Ἀρσινόη (Arsinóē), in reference to a queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty or to one of the towns called Arsinoe; alternatively simply a variant or misreading of argentea, from argenteus (“silvery”), thus “silvery thing”—in which case the late gloss “women’s headdress”, from the epitome of Festus, is spurious.[1][2]

Pronunciation

(Classical) IPA^(key): /arˈsi.ne.um/, [ärˈs̠ɪneʊ̃ˑ]

(Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /arˈsi.ne.um/, [ärˈsiːneum]

Noun

arsineum n (genitive arsineī); second declension

The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include:
1. A woman's headdress
2. Alternative form of argenteum

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	arsineum	arsinea
Genitive	arsineī	arsineōrum
Dative	arsineō	arsineīs
Accusative	arsineum	arsinea
Ablative	arsineō	arsineīs
Vocative	arsineum	arsinea

References

arsineum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
“arsineum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Leumann, Manu; Hofmann, Johann Baptist; Szantyr, Anton (1977), “rs und ls”, in Lateinische Grammatik: Lateinische Laut- und Formenlehre, CH Beck, page 211
Radicke, Jan (2023), “*arsineus < argenteus”, in Roman Women's Dress: Literary Sources, Terminology, and Historical Development, →ISBN, pages 49–50

[1] Leumann, Manu; Hofmann, Johann Baptist; Szantyr, Anton (1977), “rs und ls”, in Lateinische Grammatik: Lateinische Laut- und Formenlehre, CH Beck, page 211

[2] Radicke, Jan (2023), “*arsineus < argenteus”, in Roman Women's Dress: Literary Sources, Terminology, and Historical Development, →ISBN, pages 49–50