idolum

English

Noun

idolum (plural idola)

1. An insubstantial image; a spectre or phantom.
2. A mental image or idea.
3. A misconception or fallacy. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Related terms

• eidolon
• idol

Anagrams

• dolium, moduli, moulid

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Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek εἴδωλον (eídōlon, “image; idol”), from εἶδος (eîdos, “form”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /iːˈdoː.lum/, [iːˈd̪oːɫ̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /iˈdo.lum/, [iˈd̪ɔːlum]

Noun

īdōlum n (genitive īdōlī); second declension

1. image, form, especially a spectre, apparition or ghost
2. (Late Latin, Christianity) idol

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	īdōlum	īdōla
Genitive	īdōlī	īdōlōrum
Dative	īdōlō	īdōlīs
Accusative	īdōlum	īdōla
Ablative	īdōlō	īdōlīs
Vocative	īdōlum	īdōla

Descendants

• Dutch: idool
• English: idol, idolum
• Irish: íol
• Portuguese: ídolo

References

• “idolum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• idolum 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)
• idolum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.