cunabula

== English == === Etymology === Latin cūnābula (“cradle”). === Noun === cunabula pl (plural only) (obsolete) The earliest abode; original dwelling place; originals. The extant copies of the first or earliest printed books, or of such as were printed in the 15th century. This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}. === References === “cunabula”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. == Latin == === Alternative forms === cūnābulum (Late Latin) === Etymology === From cūnae (“cradle”) + -(ā)bula (nominal suffix denoting vessels or places). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [kuːˈnaː.bʊ.ɫa] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [kuˈnaː.bu.la] === Noun === cūnābula n pl (genitive cūnābulōrum); second declension (plural only) cradle (metonymic) nest of living things (metonymic) earliest abode, primary dwelling-place (metonymic) birth, origin ==== Usage notes ==== This word is only attested in the plural (with singular meaning—a plurale tantum) until the Late Latin period. ==== Declension ==== Second-declension noun (neuter), plural only. ==== Derived terms ==== incūnābula === References === “cūnābŭla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “cūnābula”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “cūnābŭla”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.