aculeus

English

Etymology

From Latin aculeus.

Noun

aculeus (plural aculei)

1. (botany) A prickle growing on the bark, as in some brambles and roses.
2. A sting.

Translations

prickle growing on the bark

• Catalan: aculi (ca) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: acúleo (pt) m

---

Latin

Etymology

Derived from ac(us) (“needle”) +‎ -uleus (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /aˈku.le.us/, [äˈkʊɫ̪eʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /aˈku.le.us/, [äˈkuːleus]

Noun

aculeus m (genitive aculeī); second declension

1. sting, stinger (of an insect)
2. spine, thorn

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	aculeus	aculeī
Genitive	aculeī	aculeōrum
Dative	aculeō	aculeīs
Accusative	aculeum	aculeōs
Ablative	aculeō	aculeīs
Vocative	aculee	aculeī

Derived terms

• acūleolus
• acūleātus

 

Descendants

• → English: aculeus
• Italian: aculeo
• Old French: aiglant
  • French: églantier

• ⇒ Galician: aguillón
• Portuguese: acúleo
• Romanian: aculeu
• Spanish: aguijón, acúleo

References

• “ăcūlĕus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “aculeus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• aculeus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• ăcŭlĕus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 26/3.
• “aculeus” on page 31/2 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)