caduceus
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Via Latin cādūceus, cādūceum, adaptation of Doric Ancient Greek καρύκειον (karukeion, “herald’s wand or staff”). This and Attic Greek κηρύκειον (kērukeion) are derived from κῆρυξ (kērux, “herald, public messenger”). Related to κηρύσσω (kērussō, “I announce”).
Noun[edit]
caduceus (plural caducei)
- The official wand carried by a herald in ancient Greece and Rome, specifically the one carried in mythology by Hermes, the messenger of the gods, usually represented with two snakes twined around it.
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.xii:
- Caduceus the rod of Mercury, / With which he wonts the Stygian realmes inuade [...].
- 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.xii:
- A symbol (☤) representing a staff with two snakes wrapped around it, used to indicate merchants and messengers, and also sometimes as a symbol of medicine.
- For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.
Synonyms[edit]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
Anagrams[edit]
Latin[edit]
Noun[edit]
cādūceus (genitive cādūceī); m, second declension
- Alternative form of cādūceum.
Inflection[edit]
| Number | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | cādūceus | cādūceī |
| genitive | cādūceī | cādūceōrum |
| dative | cādūceō | cādūceīs |
| accusative | cādūceum | cādūceōs |
| ablative | cādūceō | cādūceīs |
| vocative | cādūcee | cādūceī |
