spicilegium

Latin

Etymology

spīca (“an ear of corn”) +‎ legō (“I gather”) +‎ -ium (suffix forming abstract neuter substantives)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /spiː.kiˈle.ɡi.um/, [s̠piːkɪˈɫ̪ɛɡiʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /spi.t͡ʃiˈle.d͡ʒi.um/, [spit͡ʃiˈlɛːd͡ʒium]

Noun

spīcilegium n (genitive spīcilegiī or spīcilegī); second declension

1. (Classical Latin, literally) a gleaning of ears of corn (collection of ears of corn left behind after the main harvest or gathering thereof)
2. (New Latin, figuratively) a “gathering” of sparse specimens that have been overlooked by others
   • 1823, Ludwig Emanuel Schærer, Lichenum Helveticorum spicilegium, main title

     Lichenum Helveticorum spicilegium

     A gathering of Swiss lichens

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	spīcilegium	spīcilegia
Genitive	spīcilegiī spīcilegī1	spīcilegiōrum
Dative	spīcilegiō	spīcilegiīs
Accusative	spīcilegium	spīcilegia
Ablative	spīcilegiō	spīcilegiīs
Vocative	spīcilegium	spīcilegia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

See also

• racēmātiō (“grape-gleaning”)

References

• “spīcĭlĕgĭum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• spīcĭlĕgĭum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1,467/1.
• “spīcilegium” on page 1,804/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)