amplexus

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin amplexus (“embrace”)

Noun

amplexus (uncountable)

1. A form of pseudocopulation, found chiefly in amphibians and horseshoe crabs, in which a male grasps a female with his front legs as part of the mating process.
   • 2018, Ed Douglas, The Guardian, 29 March:

     In the middle, just below the surface, a male and a female were locked in amplexus, a coupling that can last for days as the male waits to fertilise the eggs when they are laid.

Related terms

• amplex

Translations

pseudocopulation in which a male grasps a female with his front legs

• Portuguese: amplexo (pt) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /amˈplek.sus/, [ämˈpɫ̪ɛks̠ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /amˈplek.sus/, [ämˈplɛksus]

Etymology 1

Perfect active participle of amplector (“surround; grasp”).

Participle

amplexus (feminine amplexa, neuter amplexum); first/second-declension participle

1. surrounded, encircled, entwined
2. embraced, clasped, grasped
3. esteemed
4. cherished

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	amplexus	amplexa	amplexum		amplexī	amplexae	amplexa
Genitive	amplexī	amplexae	amplexī		amplexōrum	amplexārum	amplexōrum
Dative	amplexō		amplexō		amplexīs
Accusative	amplexum	amplexam	amplexum		amplexōs	amplexās	amplexa
Ablative	amplexō	amplexā	amplexō		amplexīs
Vocative	amplexe	amplexa	amplexum		amplexī	amplexae	amplexa

Etymology 2

amplector +‎ -tus

Noun

amplexus m (genitive amplexūs); fourth declension

1. clasp, embrace
2. coil
3. circumference

Declension

Fourth-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	amplexus	amplexūs
Genitive	amplexūs	amplexuum
Dative	amplexuī	amplexibus
Accusative	amplexum	amplexūs
Ablative	amplexū	amplexibus
Vocative	amplexus	amplexūs

Descendants

• English: amplexus

References

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