novacula

Latin

Etymology

Proto-Italic *(ks)nowātlo-, probably from Proto-Indo-European *ksnew-, extended from *kes- (“to scratch, itch”). See also Latin saucius, Ancient Greek ξύω (xúō), Old English besnyþian, and Sanskrit क्षर (kṣara, “melting away, perishable”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /noˈwaː.ku.la/, [nɔˈwaː.kʊ.ɫa]

Noun

novācula f (genitive novāculae); first declension

1. a sharp knife, dagger, razor

Inflection

First declension.

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	novācula	novāculae
genitive	novāculae	novāculārum
dative	novāculae	novāculīs
accusative	novāculam	novāculās
ablative	novāculā	novāculīs
vocative	novācula	novāculae

Descendants

• Asturian: navaya
• Catalan: navalla
• Galician: navalla
• Portuguese: navalha, novácula
• Spanish: navaja

References

• novacula in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• novacula in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• novacula in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
• novacula in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume II, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 585