chelidonius

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English

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Etymology

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Ultimately from Ancient Greek χελῑδών (khelīdṓn, swallow).

Noun

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chelidonius

  1. (rare) A stone supposed to be taken from the stomach of a swallow, with purported magical or medicinal properties.
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: [], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: [] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 4, member 1, subsection iv:
      In the belly of a swallow, there is a stone found, called chelidonius, “which, if it be lapped in a fair cloth, and tied to the right arm, will cure lunaticks, mad men, make them amiable and merry.”
    • 1915, George Frederick Kunz, The Magic of Jewels and Charms, page 172:
      According to Thomas de Cantimpré the swallow-stone is a talisman for merchants and tradesmen. The merits of the chelidonius, as this stone was called, were fully recognized in Saxon England and are given due prominence in an Anglo-Saxon medical treatise, dating form the first half of the tenth century.
    • 1923, Lynn Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science, volume IV, page 421:
      while he discusses the chelidonius, he says nothing of extracting it so soon and describes the colors of its two varieties as black and red, and so does Bartholomew later on.

Translations

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Latin

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Ancient Greek χελῑδόνῐος (khelīdónios).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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chelīdonius (feminine chelīdonia, neuter chelīdonium); first/second-declension adjective

  1. of, belonging to, coloured like, or pertaining to the swallow

Declension

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First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative chelīdonius chelīdonia chelīdonium chelīdoniī chelīdoniae chelīdonia
Genitive chelīdoniī chelīdoniae chelīdoniī chelīdoniōrum chelīdoniārum chelīdoniōrum
Dative chelīdoniō chelīdoniō chelīdoniīs
Accusative chelīdonium chelīdoniam chelīdonium chelīdoniōs chelīdoniās chelīdonia
Ablative chelīdoniō chelīdoniā chelīdoniō chelīdoniīs
Vocative chelīdonie chelīdonia chelīdonium chelīdoniī chelīdoniae chelīdonia

Derived terms

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References

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