sterceia

== Latin == === Etymology === Perhaps a humorous formation stercus (“dung, manure”) +‎ -eius (nomen-gentilicium-forming suffix) in Tertullian. Compare to stertēia. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [stɛrˈkɛj.ja] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [sterˈt͡ʃɛː.ja] === Noun === sterceia f (genitive sterceiae); first declension a maidservant who cleans the excrement from children c. 160 CE, Tertullian, Adversus Valentinianos 8: Quārē nōn et sterceiae et syntrophī nōminantur? Why are excrement maids or childhood companions not also named? ==== Declension ==== First-declension noun. === References === “sterceia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press “sterceia”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.