linguatulus

== Latin == === Etymology === From linguātus + -ulus (diminutive suffix). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [lɪŋˈɡʷaː.tʊ.ɫʊs] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [liŋˈɡʷaː.tu.lus] === Adjective === linguātulus (feminine linguātula, neuter linguātulum); first/second-declension adjective (hapax legomenon) diminutive of linguātus ==== Usage notes ==== The difference in meaning between the diminutive and the base adjective is disputed: Lewis and Short defines it as "somewhat gifted with a tongue, sub-eloquent", i.e. as "linguātus to a small extent" or "possessing a small amount of the quality described by the word linguātus", but Petersen argues that this reading of the word as a "diminutive of quality" is incorrect. Petersen says that instead of adding the meaning "somewhat" or "sub-", the diminutive in this context is a hypocoristic that "expresses admiration for neatness, elegance, or beauty". The adjective linguātus literally meant "tongued" (possessing a tongue); it was used with the metaphorical sense "eloquent", but in the context of Tertullian's story, which is about infants supposedly raised by a nurse who had her tongue cut out, the literal meaning seems possible. ==== Declension ==== First/second-declension adjective. ==== Descendants ==== → Translingual: Linguatula === References === === Further reading === “linguatulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “linguatulus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.