rotula

See also: rótula, rotulá, and ròtula

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin rotula. Doublet of role and roll.

Noun

rotula (plural rotulas or rotulae)

1. (anatomy) The patella; the kneecap.
2. (zoology) One of the five radial pieces in the dentary apparatus of the sea urchin.

Derived terms

• rotular

Translations

kneecap — see kneecap

Anagrams

• Alutor, LAUTRO, Latour, torula

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin rotula.

Noun

rotula f (plural rotule)

1. (anatomy) patella, kneecap, rotula

Derived terms

• rotuleo

Anagrams

• urlato

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈro.tu.la/, [ˈrɔt̪ʊɫ̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈro.tu.la/, [ˈrɔːt̪ulä]

Etymology 1

Diminutive from rota (“wheel”) +‎ -ulus.

Noun

rotula f (genitive rotulae); first declension

1. a small wheel; roll

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	rotula	rotulae
Genitive	rotulae	rotulārum
Dative	rotulae	rotulīs
Accusative	rotulam	rotulās
Ablative	rotulā	rotulīs
Vocative	rotula	rotulae

Alternative forms

• rotulus

Descendants

• Catalan: rotlle; → ròtula
• Old French: role
  • Middle French: rolle
    • French: rôle
      • → Catalan: rol
        • → Spanish: rol (“roll (list)”)
      • → English: role, rôle
        • → Spanish: rol (“role”)
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: rolle (partly; also through German)
      • → Norwegian Nynorsk: rolle (partly; also through German)
      • Portuguese: rolo
  • → Middle Dutch: rolle
    • Dutch: rol
      • Afrikaans: rol
  • → Middle English: rolle
    • English: roll
  • → Middle High German: rolle, rulle
    • German: Rolle
      • → Norwegian Bokmål: rolle (partly; also through French)
      • → Norwegian Nynorsk: rolle (partly; also through French)
• → French: rotule
• Galician: rolla, rolda; → rótula
• → Italian: rotula
• Portuguese: rolha; → rótula
• Spanish: rolla, rondala; → rótula

Etymology 2

From Arabic رَطْل (raṭl); the form is influenced by etymology 1. Doublet of litra.

Noun

rotula f (genitive rotulae); first declension

1. (Medieval Latin) a rottol (any of various measures of dry or liquid weight originating in the Arab world)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	rotula	rotulae
Genitive	rotulae	rotulārum
Dative	rotulae	rotulīs
Accusative	rotulam	rotulās
Ablative	rotulā	rotulīs
Vocative	rotula	rotulae

References

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

Portuguese

Verb

rotula

1. inflection of rotular:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /roˈtula/ [roˈt̪u.la]
• Rhymes: -ula
• Syllabification: ro‧tu‧la

Verb

rotula

1. inflection of rotular:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative