plinthus

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πλίνθος (plínthos, “brick”); possibly from earlier Pre-Greek.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈplin.tʰus/, [ˈplʲɪn̪t̪ʰʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈplin.tus/, [ˈplin̪t̪us]

Noun

plinthus m or f (genitive plinthī); second declension

1. (architecture) plinth
2. (surveying) a hundred-acre plot of land

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	plinthus	plinthī
Genitive	plinthī	plinthōrum
Dative	plinthō	plinthīs
Accusative	plinthum	plinthōs
Ablative	plinthō	plinthīs
Vocative	plinthe	plinthī

Descendants

• Italian: plinto
• Middle French: plinte
  • French: plinthe
    • → Dutch: plint
    • → English: plinth
• Portuguese: plinto
• → Russian: пли́нтус (plíntus)
  • → Ukrainian: плі́нтус (plíntus)
• Spanish: plinto

References

• “plinthus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• plinthus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “plinthus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin