carnifex

English

Etymology

From Latin carnifex (“butcher”)

Noun

carnifex (plural carnifexes)

1. (rare, literary) An executioner.
2. (rare, literary) A butcher.

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Latin

Etymology

From carni(s) (“flesh”) +‎ -fex (“suffix representing a maker or producer”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈkar.ni.feks/, [ˈkar.nɪ.fɛks]

Noun

carnifex m (genitive carnificis); third declension

1. butcher, knacker (one who slaughters and renders worn-out livestock)
2. executioner, hangman
3. tormenter, murderer
4. scoundrel, villain

Inflection

Third declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	carnifex	carnificēs
genitive	carnificis	carnificum
dative	carnificī	carnificibus
accusative	carnificem	carnificēs
ablative	carnifice	carnificibus
vocative	carnifex	carnificēs

Descendants

• Portuguese: carnífice
• Spanish: carnífice

References

• carnifex in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• carnifex in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• du Cange, Charles (1883), “carnifex”, in G. A. Louis Henschel, Pierre Carpentier, Léopold Favre, editors, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (in Latin), Niort: L. Favre
• “carnifex” in Félix Gaffiot’s Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette (1934)
• carnifex in William Smith et al., editor (1890) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin