scelus

== Latin == === Etymology === Disputed. De Vaan derives the term from Proto-Italic *skelos, from Proto-Indo-European *skel-os ~ *skel-es-os n (“curve, bending”), from *skel- (“to curve, bend”). Cognate with Proto-Germanic *skelhaz (whence Dutch scheel, German scheel), Ancient Greek σκέλος (skélos), σκολιός (skoliós). Schrijver, however, adduces Old Armenian սխալեմ (sxalem, “to fail, be wanting, err”) and Sanskrit स्खलति (skhalati, “to stumble”) as cognates, both of which are otherwise derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)gʷʰh₂el- (“to stumble, misstep”). According to this theory, the root would be reconstructed as *(s)kh₁el-, which would explain the lack of the development *ke- to *ka- that is otherwise supported by Schrijver. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈskɛ.ɫʊs] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈʃɛː.lus] === Noun === scelus n (genitive sceleris); third declension an evil deed; a wicked, heinous, or impious action Synonyms: dēlīctum, peccātum, facinus, flāgitium, iniūria, commissum, maleficium Cui prōdest scelus, is fēcit ― He who benefits from the crime, commits it. wickedness, villainy (transferred) criminal, villain, felon, scoundrel, rascal, rogue ==== Declension ==== Third-declension noun (neuter, imparisyllabic non-i-stem). When it refers to a criminal (someone who commits crimes), scelus becomes a masculine or feminine noun, with accusative singular scelerem and nominative, accusative, and vocative plurals scelerēs. ==== Derived terms ==== scelerō scelestus sceliō ==== Descendants ==== → Italian: scelo, scelere === References === “scelus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “scelus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers “scelus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette. Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.