instrumentum

Latin

Etymology

From īnstruō (“build, construct; arrange”) +‎ -mentum.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /in.struːˈmen.tum/, [ĩːs̠t̪ruːˈmɛn̪t̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /in.struˈmen.tum/, [inst̪ruˈmɛn̪t̪um]

Noun

īnstrūmentum n (genitive īnstrūmentī); second declension

1. An instrument, tool, utensil
2. (collective) supply, provision
3. (general) paraphernalia, equipment
4. records, documents

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta
Genitive	īnstrūmentī	īnstrūmentōrum
Dative	īnstrūmentō	īnstrūmentīs
Accusative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta
Ablative	īnstrūmentō	īnstrūmentīs
Vocative	īnstrūmentum	īnstrūmenta

Related terms

• īnstructē
• īnstructiō
• īnstructor
• īnstructūra
• īnstrūctus
• īnstruō

Descendants

• Catalan: instrument
• → Middle Dutch: instrument
  • Dutch: instrument
• Old French: instrument
  • → Middle English: instrument
    • English: instrument
  • French: instrument
• Galician: estormento, instrumento (borrowing)
• → Middle High German: instrument
  • German: Instrument
• Middle Low German: instrument
  • German Low German: Instrument
• → Middle Irish: instrumint
  • Irish: ionstraim, instrúim
• Italian: strumento
• Occitan: instrument
• Piedmontese: strument
• Portuguese: instrumento
• Romanian: instrument
• → Russian: инструмент (instrument)
• Sicilian: strummentu
• Spanish: instrumento (see there for further descendants)

References

• “instrumentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “instrumentum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• instrumentum 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)
• instrumentum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• instrumentum in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016