macula

See also: Macula and mácula

English

Illustration showing parts of the human eye, including the macula.

Etymology

From Middle English macula (“spot on the skin or in the eye”), borrowed from Latin macula (“spot, stain”). Doublet of macchia.

Noun

macula (plural maculae)

1. (anatomy) An oval yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye, histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells, responsible for detailed central vision.
2. A spot, as on the skin, or on the surface of the sun or of some other luminous orb.
3. A rather large spot or blotch of color.
4. In planetary geology, an unusually dark area on the surface of a planet or moon.

Related terms

• (oval yellow spot near the center of the retina): macula lutea, macular

Translations

anatomy: yellow spot near the center of retina

• Catalan: màcula (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黃斑／黄斑 (zh) (huángbān), 黄斑 (zh) (huángbān)

• Czech: žlutá skvrna f
• Dutch: gele vlek m or f, macula (nl) f
• Finnish: keltatäplä
• French: macula (fr) f, macula lutea f
• German: Gelber Fleck m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Greek: ωχρή κηλίδα f (ochrí kilída)
• Ido: makulo (io)
• Italian: macula (it) f
• Japanese: 黄斑 (おうはん, ōhan)
• Persian: لکهٔ زرد (fa) (lakke-ye zard)
• Portuguese: mácula (pt) f
• Russian: жёлтое пятно́ n (žóltoje pjatnó), ма́кула (ru) f (mákula)

spot

• Finnish: täplä (fi); pilkku (fi) (in the sun)
• Ido: makulo (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: mácula (pt) f, mancha (pt) f

large blot or splotch

• Finnish: läiskä (fi), läikkä (fi)
• Italian: macula (it) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: mancha (pt) f

planetary geology: dark area on the surface of planet or moon

• Finnish: pilkku (fi), täplä (fi), alue (fi) (depending on relative size)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

Further reading

• macula on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “macula”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “macula”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “macula”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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Catalan

Verb

macula

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French

Verb

macula

1. third-person singular past historic of maculer

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Italian

Alternative forms

• macola

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin macula, whence also the inherited doublet macchia.

Noun

macula f (plural macule)

1. (anatomy, astronomy, geology) macula
2. stain, blot
3. (pathology) macule blotch

Synonyms

• (stain, blot): macchia

Related terms

• maculopatia

Further reading

• macula on the Italian Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^it

Anagrams

• caluma, lumaca

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Latin

Alternative forms

• macla (Mediaeval)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *smatlo-, from Proto-Indo-European *smh₂tlo- (possibly meaning “wiping”); related to Ancient Greek σμάω (smáō, “I wipe clean, cleanse”).

Pronunciation

• macula: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäkʊɫ̪ä]
• macula: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäːkulä]
• maculā: (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ku.laː/, [ˈmäkʊɫ̪äː]
• maculā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäːkulä]

Noun

macula f (genitive maculae); first declension

1. in a bad sense
   1. (literally and in general) a spot, speck, small mark or stain
      1. (literally and in particular) a disfiguring spot, stain, or blemish
         1. (on the skin) a blemish, temporary or permanent (for example, a bruise, freckle, mole, birthmark, etc.)
         2. (on a garment) a stain, an area of soiling or defilement
   2. (figuratively) a fault or blemish, a blot on one’s character
   3. (transferred sense) a mark of shame or disgrace; a stigma, brand, or blight
2. in a neutral sense
   1. any kind of marking or point of variegation; a speckle, spot, patch, line, or similar
      1. on the skin or coat of an animal
      2. on the leaves of a plant
   2. (transferred sense) a mesh in a net, a cell in a network, or a hole in a web
      1. (Medieval Latin, in particular) a cell in a coat of mail, a ring of chainmail
      2. (Medieval Latin, transferred sense) a link in a chain

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	macula	maculae
Genitive	maculae	maculārum
Dative	maculae	maculīs
Accusative	maculam	maculās
Ablative	maculā	maculīs
Vocative	macula	maculae

Derived terms

• Macula (cognomen)
• maculō
• maculōsus
• maculātūra

Descendants

• Asturian: mancha, macla, mácola
• Catalan: malla, màcula
• Czech: machule
• German: Makel
• English: macula (borrowing directly from Latin), mail (via French), macle (possibly; via French), mackle and macule (via French), macchia (via Italian), maquis (via French from Corsican)
• French: maille, macule (borrowing), maquis (borrowing from Corsican)
• Friulian: magle
• Galician: mágoa (“sorrow”), mancha
• Italian: macchia, macula (borrowing)

• Occitan: malha
• Portuguese: mancha, malha (“mail”) (via French), malha (“stain in animal fur”) (directly from Latin), mágoa, mácula (borrowing), macla (possibly; via French), mangra, maquis (via French from Corsican)
• Sicilian: macchia
• Slovak machuľa
• Spanish: mancha, mácula (borrowing), mangla
• Venetian: macia

Noun

(deprecated template usage) maculā f

1. ablative singular of macula

References

• “măcŭla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “macula”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• macula 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)
• măcŭla in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 935/2.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to blot out a reproach: maculam (conceptam) delere, eluere
    
  • (ambiguous) to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
    
• “macula” on pages 1,058–1,059 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
• Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976) “macula, macla”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill, page 624/1
• de Vaan, Michiel, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, vol. 7 of Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, Alexander Lubotsky ed., Leiden: Brill, 2008.

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• macule

Etymology

A borrowing from Latin macula.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmakiu̯la/

Noun

macula (plural maculas)

1. (Late Middle English, rare) A lesion on the eye.
2. (Late Middle English, rare) A lesion on the skin.

Descendants

• English: macula

References

• “macula (n.)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-09.

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Portuguese

Verb

macula

1. Template:pt-verb-form-of

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Spanish

Verb

macula

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of macular.
2. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of macular.
3. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of macular.