levenna
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Latin
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From the stem of the Latin word levis (“light, not heavy, trifling, trivial”) + a suffix -enna that was borrowed from Etruscan.[1][2]
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /leˈu̯en.na/, [ɫ̪eˈu̯ɛnːä]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /leˈven.na/, [leˈvɛnːä]
Noun
[edit]levenna m (genitive levennae); first declension
- (hapax) The exact meaning of this term is uncertain; it is attested only by mention in a passage equating the meanings of homo levenna and levis. Possible meanings include:
- a wimp, per Ostler
- a distracted, absent-minded person
Usage notes
[edit]- Mentioned once in a passage by Aulus Gellius about unusual words used in the works of Decimus Laberius (c. 105 BC – 43 BC).
Declension
[edit]First-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | levenna | levennae |
Genitive | levennae | levennārum |
Dative | levennae | levennīs |
Accusative | levennam | levennās |
Ablative | levennā | levennīs |
Vocative | levenna | levennae |
References
[edit]- ^ Ostler, Nicholas (2007) Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin, page 324
- ^ Bonfante, Giuliano (1985) "Etruscan Words in Latin", Word, 36:3, 203-210, page 205
Further reading
[edit]- “lĕvenna”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- lĕvenna in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 903/1.
- “leuenna” on page 1,019/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)