tergum

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin tergum (“back, rear; surface”).

Noun

tergum (plural terga)

1. (entomology) The upper or dorsal surface of an articulated animal such as an arthropod.

Derived terms

• tergal

Related terms

• tergite

Latin

Etymology

From tergus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈter.ɡum/, [ˈt̪ɛrɡʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈter.ɡum/, [ˈt̪ɛrɡum]

Noun

tergum n (genitive tergī); second declension

1. back, rear; surface

   tergum/terga vertere ― be on the run, to escape

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	tergum	terga
Genitive	tergī	tergōrum
Dative	tergō	tergīs
Accusative	tergum	terga
Ablative	tergō	tergīs
Vocative	tergum	terga

Derived terms

• terga vertere

Descendants

• Italian: tergo

References

• “tergum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “tergum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• tergum 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)
• tergum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to flee, run away: terga vertere or dare
    
  • to run away from the enemy: terga dare hosti
    
  • (ambiguous) to attack the enemy in the rear: hostes a tergo adoriri
    
  • (ambiguous) to surround the enemy from the rear: circumvenire hostem aversum or a tergo (B. G. 2. 26)
    

Dizionario Latino, Olivetti