chelidonius

English

Etymology

Ultimately from Ancient Greek χελῑδών (khelīdṓn, “swallow”).

Noun

chelidonius

1. (rare) A stone supposed to be taken from the stomach of a swallow, with purported magical or medicinal properties.
   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 4, member 1, subsection iv:

     In the belly of a swallow, there is a stone found, called chelidonius, “which, if it be lapped in a fair cloth, and tied to the right arm, will cure lunaticks, mad men, make them amiable and merry.”

   • 1915, George Frederick Kunz, The Magic of Jewels and Charms, page 172:

     According to Thomas de Cantimpré the swallow-stone is a talisman for merchants and tradesmen. The merits of the chelidonius, as this stone was called, were fully recognized in Saxon England and are given due prominence in an Anglo-Saxon medical treatise, dating form the first half of the tenth century.

   • 1923, Lynn Thorndike, History of Magic and Experimental Science, volume IV, page 421:

     while he discusses the chelidonius, he says nothing of extracting it so soon and describes the colors of its two varieties as black and red, and so does Bartholomew later on.

Translations

magical stone taken from a swallow’s stomach

Latin

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek χελῑδόνῐος (khelīdónios).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʰe.liːˈdo.ni.us/, [kʰɛlʲiːˈd̪ɔniʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ke.liˈdo.ni.us/, [keliˈd̪ɔːnius]

Adjective

chelīdonius (feminine chelīdonia, neuter chelīdonium); first/second-declension adjective

1. of, belonging to, coloured like, or pertaining to the swallow

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	chelīdonius	chelīdonia	chelīdonium		chelīdoniī	chelīdoniae	chelīdonia
Genitive	chelīdoniī	chelīdoniae	chelīdoniī		chelīdoniōrum	chelīdoniārum	chelīdoniōrum
Dative	chelīdoniō		chelīdoniō		chelīdoniīs
Accusative	chelīdonium	chelīdoniam	chelīdonium		chelīdoniōs	chelīdoniās	chelīdonia
Ablative	chelīdoniō	chelīdoniā	chelīdoniō		chelīdoniīs
Vocative	chelīdonie	chelīdonia	chelīdonium		chelīdoniī	chelīdoniae	chelīdonia

Derived terms

• chelīdonia

Related terms

• chelīdōn
• chelīdoniacus
• Chelīdoniae
• chelīdoniās
• Chelidonium
• chelīdonium

References

• “chĕlīdŏnĭus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• chĕlīdŏnĭus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 300/1.
• “chelīdonius” on page 309/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)