conticinium

Latin edit

Alternative forms edit

conticium, conticinnum, conticuum

Etymology edit

From conticeō (“be silent”) or conticīscō (“become still”) +‎ -ium. The second -n- is by analogy with the coordinate term gallicinium (“cockcrow, daybreak”).

Pronunciation edit

(Classical) IPA^(key): /kon.tiˈki.ni.um/, [kɔn̪t̪ɪˈkɪniʊ̃ˑ]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kon.tiˈt͡ʃi.ni.um/, [kon̪t̪iˈt͡ʃiːnium]

Noun edit

conticinium n (genitive conticiniī or conticinī); second declension

The period of the late evening when animals cease to make noise.

Usage notes edit

In Bede et al., a particular period of night following the appearance of the stars at vespers and before intempestum (“midnight”).

Declension edit

Second-declension noun (neuter).

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	conticinium	conticinia
Genitive	conticiniī conticinī¹	conticiniōrum
Dative	conticiniō	conticiniīs
Accusative	conticinium	conticinia
Ablative	conticiniō	conticiniīs
Vocative	conticinium	conticinia

¹Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Hypernyms edit

nox

References edit

“conticinium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
conticinium in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
"Anglo-Saxon Manual of Astronomy", p. 6, in Popular Treatises on Science Written during the Middle Ages (1841), London: Historical Society of Science.