Volcae
English edit
Noun edit
Volcae pl (plural only)
- (historical) A Gallic tribal confederation that invaded Macedonia c. 270 BC and fought the assembled Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 279 BC.
Latin edit
Etymology edit
Possibly from Proto-Celtic *wolkos (“hawk”) (cf. the personal names Gaulish Catuvolcus and Welsh Cadwalch (“Battle-hawk”)), or alternatively (but less likely[1]) Proto-Celtic *ulkʷos (“wolf”), in turn from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos, as Caesar described the Celts having fought with huge dogs.[2]
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈu̯ol.kae̯/, [ˈu̯ɔɫ̪käe̯]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈvol.t͡ʃe/, [ˈvɔl̠ʲt͡ʃe]
Proper noun edit
Volcae m pl (genitive Volcārum); first declension
- (ancient history) A Gallic tribal confederation of Gallia Narbonensis whose chief towns were Nemausus and Tolosa.
Declension edit
First-declension noun, plural only.
| Case | Plural |
|---|---|
| Nominative | Volcae |
| Genitive | Volcārum |
| Dative | Volcīs |
| Accusative | Volcās |
| Ablative | Volcīs |
| Vocative | Volcae |
References edit
- “Volcae”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Volcae in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “Volcae”, in William Smith, editor (1854, 1857), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, volume 1 & 2, London: Walton and Maberly
- ^ Patrizia de Bernardo (2008), "Linguistically Celtic Ethnonyms: towards a classification", in: Juan Luís García Alonso (ed.), Celtic and Other Languages in Ancient Europe, Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, p. 103
- ^ Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico