LatinEdit

 
agnus (a lamb)

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Italic *agʷnos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʷnós.

Cognates include Ancient Greek ἀμνός (amnós), Old Church Slavonic агнѧ (agnę), Old English ēanian (English yean), and Albanian enjë.

PronunciationEdit

  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈaɡ.nus/, [ˈäŋnʊs̠]
  • (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈaɲ.ɲus/, [ˈäɲːus]
  • (file)
  • (file)

NounEdit

agnus m (genitive agnī); second declension

  1. a lamb, especially one used as a sacrifice
    Agnus absque maculā.
    A lamb without blemish.
    Villa abundat porco, haedo, agno.
    The farm abounds in pigs, young goats and lambs.
    Ecce Agnus Dei.
    Behold the Lamb of God.

DeclensionEdit

Second-declension noun (contracted genitive plural).

Case Singular Plural
Nominative agnus agnī
Genitive agnī agnōrum
agnum1
Dative agnō agnīs
Accusative agnum agnōs
Ablative agnō agnīs
Vocative agne agnī

1Contraction found in poetry.

Derived termsEdit

DescendantsEdit

  • Galician: año
  • Italian: agno
  • Neapolitan: àino
  • Old French: agne, aigne, ainne
  • Portuguese: anho
  • Sicilian: aiuno, avuno, amuno (Calabrian)

ReferencesEdit

LithuanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

A verbal adjective from an unattested root *ag- ("to drive"), paralleled by Old Irish án (quick) < *ag-nos, Sanskrit अजिर (ajirá-, agile, quick). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- (to drive); compare Old Irish aigid, Sanskrit अजति (ajati). The Lithuanian form appears to have undergone depalatalization before the nasal.[1]

The connection with Russian яглый (jaglyj, active, energetic) is rejected by Vasmer.[2]

PronunciationEdit

IPA(key): /ɐɡˈnʊs/

AdjectiveEdit

agnùs m (feminine agnì, neuter agnù) stress pattern 4

  1. (Samogitian) agile, energetic

DeclensionEdit

Derived termsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ Jurij Vladimirovič Otkupščikov (1967) Iz istorii indojevropejskovo slovoobrazovanija [From the History of Indo-European Word Formation], page 227
  2. ^ Vasmer, Max (1964–1973), “яглый”, in Этимологический словарь русского языка [Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language] (in Russian), transl. and suppl. by Oleg Trubachyov, Moscow: Progress

Further readingEdit

  • agnus”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2023
  • agnus”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2023