reliquiae

English

Etymology

From Latin reliquiae.

Noun

reliquiae pl (plural only)

1. Remains, especially of fossil organisms.
   • 1831, Philosophical Magazine, volume 9, page 435:

     The most abundant fossil remains of plants belong to terrestrial tribes; but the animal reliquiæ are mostly of aquatic origin; […]

2. (archaeology) Artifacts; things made or modified by human art.

Latin

Alternative forms

• reliquia (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *relikuwia, from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ-. Related to Latin linquō, itself derived from Proto-Italic *linkʷō. By surface analysis, reliquus +‎ -iae.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [rɛˈlɪ.kʷi.ae̯]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [reˈliː.kʷi.e]

Noun

rē̆liquiae f pl (genitive rē̆liquiārum); first declension

1. remains, relics
2. remnants, remainders
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 1.30:

     Trōās, rēliquiās Danaum atque immītis Achillī

     the Trojans, remnants of the Greeks and especially the merciless Achilles
     (That is, Achilles and the Greek warriors slaughtered the Trojans except Aeneas and a small remainder who escaped; in the context of Juno’s persistent disdain for the Trojans, the more derogatory “remnants” is more appropriate than “survivors.” See: Juno (mythology), Achilles; Danai.)

3. leftovers of a meal
4. survivors

Usage notes

In the poets, also spelled relliquiae. A genitive singular reliquiae is found in Lucius Appuleius's Apologia.

Declension

First-declension noun, plural only.

	plural
nominative	rē̆liquiae
genitive	rē̆liquiārum
dative	rē̆liquiīs
accusative	rē̆liquiās
ablative	rē̆liquiīs
vocative	rē̆liquiae

Related terms

• relinquō

Noun

reliquiae

1. inflection of reliquia:
   1. genitive/dative singular
   2. nominative/vocative plural

References

• “reliquiae”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “reliquiae”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "reliquiae", 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)
• reliquiae in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “linquo, -ere”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 344