axilla

See also: axil·la

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin axilla (“side, armpit”). Doublet of axil.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ækˈsɪlə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪlə

Noun

axilla (plural axillas or axillae)

1. The armpit, or the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder.
2. (botany, uncommon) Alternative form of axil

Translations

armpit — see armpit

Latin

Alternative forms

• ascella (Late and Vulgar Latin)

Etymology

Diminutive form of āla (“wing”) (from its earlier form *axla). Compare with similarly formed māla - maxilla.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /aːkˈsil.la/, [äːkˈs̠ɪlːʲä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /akˈsil.la/, [äkˈsilːä]

Noun

āxilla f (genitive āxillae); first declension

1. little wing
2. axilla, armpit

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	āxilla	āxillae
Genitive	āxillae	āxillārum
Dative	āxillae	āxillīs
Accusative	āxillam	āxillās
Ablative	āxillā	āxillīs
Vocative	āxilla	āxillae

Descendants

• Breton: askell
• Catalan: aixella, axil·la
• Corsican: ascedda, ascella
• Dalmatian: scul
• Dutch: axilla
• French: aisselle
• Irish: ascaill
• Italian: ascella
• Neapolitan: ascella, scella
• Occitan: aissèla, eishèra
• Portuguese: axila
• Romanian: axilă
• Sicilian: asciḍḍa
• Spanish: axila
• Turkish: aksilla
• Venetian: asela
• → English: axilla
• Welsh: asgell

References

• “axilla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• axilla in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “axilla”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray