caprimulgus
See also: Caprimulgus
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From capra (“goat”) + mulgeō (“I milk”). The sense "nightjar" is first attested in Pliny the Elder's Naturalis historia and represents a partial calque of Ancient Greek αἰγοθήλας (aigothḗlas), following Aristotle's claim in Historia animalium that certain nocturnal birds - often identified as nightjars - suck milk from the udders of goats.
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ka.priˈmul.ɡus/, [käprɪˈmʊɫ̪ɡʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ka.priˈmul.ɡus/, [käpriˈmulɡus]
Noun edit
caprimulgus m (genitive caprimulgī); second declension
Declension edit
Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | caprimulgus | caprimulgī |
| Genitive | caprimulgī | caprimulgōrum |
| Dative | caprimulgō | caprimulgīs |
| Accusative | caprimulgum | caprimulgōs |
| Ablative | caprimulgō | caprimulgīs |
| Vocative | caprimulge | caprimulgī |
Descendants edit
- Italian: caprimulgo
- Translingual: Caprimulgus
- → Dutch: geitenmelker (calque)
References edit
- “caprimulgus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “caprimulgus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- caprimulgus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.