tescum

== Latin == === Alternative forms === tescuum, tesquum === Etymology === Uncertain and lacking agreement on the precise meaning. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ters- (“dry”), with regular simplification of *-rs- > /s/ before a voiceless consonant (compare testis). Compare pāscuum for the formation. The c in the plural is likely to be analogical after the regular /kʷum > kum/ in the singular. A connection with Proto-Indo-European *tews- (“to be empty”), the source of Sanskrit तुच्छ (tuccha, “empty”), is rejected by De Vaan, who mentions Dunkel's proposal that teskʷ- is derived by dissimilation from twes-kʷ- but points out that *twes- is not an ablaut grade of this root. === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈtɛs.kũː] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈtɛs.kum] === Noun === tescum n (genitive tescī); second declension (chiefly in the plural) wilderness, wasteland, desert ==== Declension ==== Second-declension noun (neuter). === References ===