sericus

Latin

Etymology

From Sēricus and Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós, “silken”), from σήρ (sḗr, “silkworm”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”), possibly ultimately from the Old Chinese word for silk. Equivalent to Seres +‎ -icus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈseː.rɪ.kʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsɛː.ri.kus]

Adjective

sēricus (feminine sērica, neuter sēricum); first/second-declension adjective

1. silken, made of silk
2. silky, silklike
3. (historical) alternative letter-case form of Sēricus, of or related to the Seres or (New Latin) the Chinese

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	sēricus	sērica	sēricum		sēricī	sēricae	sērica
genitive	sēricī	sēricae	sēricī		sēricōrum	sēricārum	sēricōrum
dative	sēricō	sēricae	sēricō		sēricīs
accusative	sēricum	sēricam	sēricum		sēricōs	sēricās	sērica
ablative	sēricō	sēricā	sēricō		sēricīs
vocative	sērice	sērica	sēricum		sēricī	sēricae	sērica

Derived terms

• sērica
• sēricārius
• sēricoblatta
• sēricum

Related terms

• Serica
• Sericanus
• sēricāria
• sēricāriī
• Sericus

Descendants

• Asturian: silgu^?
• Old French: sarge
  • Middle French: sarge
    • French: serge, sarge (obsolete)
      • → English: serge
• Old Galician-Portuguese: sirgo, silgo
  • Galician: sirgo
  • Portuguese: sirgo
• Spanish: sirgo
• → Irish: seiric
• → Proto-West Germanic: *seluk, *seruk (see there for further descendants)
• → English: seric (learned)
• → Italian: serico (learned)
• → Portuguese: sérico (learned)
• → Spanish: sérico (learned)

References

• “sericus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "sericus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)