floccus

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin floccus.

Noun

floccus (plural flocci)

1. (meteorology) A cloud species which consists of rounded tufts of cloud, often formed by dissipation from larger cloud species. Associated with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus genera.
2. A flock or tuft of wool or wool-like hairs; the downy plumage of unfledged birds.

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Latin

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlok-, related to Old High German blaha, Old Swedish blan, bla, both from Proto-Germanic *blahwo (“tuft”), and Old Norse blæja, which is from Proto-Germanic *blahjon (“flock of wool”).

Noun

floccus m (genitive floccī); second declension

1. tuft, wisp of wool

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	floccus	floccī
Genitive	floccī	floccōrum
Dative	floccō	floccīs
Accusative	floccum	floccōs
Ablative	floccō	floccīs
Vocative	flocce	floccī

Derived terms

• floccosus
• flocculus

Descendants

• Eastern Romance:
  • Dalmatian: floc, flok
  • Romanian: floc
  • Italian: fiocco
• Old French: floc
  • French: floc
  • → Middle English: flock
    • English: flock (“tuft of wool”)
• Old Occitan:
  • Catalan: floc
  • Occitan: flòc
• Old Galician-Portuguese: frocco
  • Galician: floco
  • Portuguese: floco, froco
• Piedmontese: fiòca
• Old Spanish:
  • Spanish: flueco, fleco, lleco
• Rhaeto-Romance:
  • Friulian: floc
• → Albanian: flok
• → English: floccus
• → English: floc
• → Proto-Brythonic: *flʉx
  • Middle Welsh: ffluch
    • Welsh: ffluwch

References

• “floccus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “floccus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• floccus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.