dentilegus

Latin

Etymology

Coined by Plautus, from dēns (“tooth”) +‎ -legus (suffix meaning “the one who gathers”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /denˈti.le.ɡus/, [d̪ɛn̪ˈt̪ɪɫ̪ɛɡʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /denˈti.le.ɡus/, [d̪en̪ˈt̪iːleɡus]

Noun

dentilegus m (genitive dentilegī); second declension

1. (hapax, humorous) someone who picks up teeth from the ground; a tooth-gatherer.
   • c. 200 BCE – 190 BCE, Plautus, Captivi 798:

     dentilegos omnes mortales faciam, quemque offendero.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	dentilegus	dentilegī
Genitive	dentilegī	dentilegōrum
Dative	dentilegō	dentilegīs
Accusative	dentilegum	dentilegōs
Ablative	dentilegō	dentilegīs
Vocative	dentilege	dentilegī

References

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