sciurus

See also: Sciurus

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros, “squirrel”), from σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) + οὐρά (ourá, “tail”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /skiˈuː.rus/, [s̠kiˈuːrʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ʃiˈu.rus/, [ʃiˈuːrus]

Noun

sciūrus m (genitive sciūrī); second declension

1. squirrel

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	sciūrus	sciūrī
Genitive	sciūrī	sciūrōrum
Dative	sciūrō	sciūrīs
Accusative	sciūrum	sciūrōs
Ablative	sciūrō	sciūrīs
Vocative	sciūre	sciūrī

Descendants

The descendants reflect a metathesized form *scūrius, usually as a diminutive *scūriolus (Western) or *scuriattus (Central).

Descendants

• ⇒ Aragonese: esquirgüelo
• ⇒ Asturian: esquilu
• ⇒ Corsican: scurriolu, scurrichjolu, currachjolu; scoiattulu, scuiattulu
• → Esperanto: sciuro
• ⇒ Franco-Provençal: ècurél
• ⇒ Friulian: sghirate, sghirat
• ⇒ Galician: esquío
• ⇒ Italian: scoiattolo
• ⇒ Ladin: schirata
• ⇒ Lombard: sghiratt, sghiràt, schiràt
• ⇒ Old French: escurel, escureul, escuirel
  • Anglo-Norman: esquirel
    • → Middle English: squirel, squyrelle, squerel, scurelle, squerell, scurelle, squyrell
      • English: squirrel
        • → Ido: skurelo
        • → Maltese: skwiril, squiril, skwirill
  • French: écureuil
  • Gallo: étchuro
  • Norman: êtchutheu (Jersey)

• ⇒ Old Occitan:
  • Catalan: esquirol
  • Occitan: esquiròl, esquirò (Aranese), esquiròu (Gascony, Provençal), esquiròu
• ⇒ Piedmontese: schërieul
• ⇒ Portuguese: esquilo
• Romanian: știur
• ⇒ Romansch: stgilat
• ⇒ Sardinian: schirrittu, schirrimatta; iscojàttulu
• ⇒ Sicilian: scuiàttulu, scujàttulu
  • → Maltese: skojjatlu
• ⇒ Spanish: esquilo
• → Translingual: Sciurus
• ⇒ Venetian: schirato, schirat

References

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