fabella

See also: Fabella

English

Etymology

From New Latin fabella, diminutive of Latin faba (“bean”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fəˈbɛlə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

fabella (plural fabellae)

1. (anatomy) One of the small sesamoid bones situated behind the condyles of the femur, in some mammals.

Latin

Etymology 1

From fābula +‎ -la (diminutive suffix).

Noun

fābella f (genitive fābellae); first declension

1. diminutive of fābula (“fable, tale, story”)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fābella	fābellae
Genitive	fābellae	fābellārum
Dative	fābellae	fābellīs
Accusative	fābellam	fābellās
Ablative	fābellā	fābellīs
Vocative	fābella	fābellae

Derived terms

• fābellor

Descendants

• Italian: favella
• Old French: favele
  • → English: favel
• Polish: fabuła
• Portuguese: fabela
• Romansch: faveala, faviala
• → Spanish: fabela

Etymology 2

faba (“bean”) +‎ -ellus. From its bean-like shape and size, in some animals.

Noun

fabella f

1. (anatomy) fabella (the posterior analogue of the anterior patella)

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fabella	fabellae
Genitive	fabellae	fabellārum
Dative	fabellae	fabellīs
Accusative	fabellam	fabellās
Ablative	fabellā	fabellīs
Vocative	fabella	fabellae

References

• “fabella”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fabella”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fabella in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• fabella in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • an anecdote: narratiuncula, fabella (Fin. 5. 15)