imbecillus

Latin

Alternative forms

• imbēcillis

Etymology

For *imbeccillus, from in- +‎ bacillus, as if "without support, feeble", but Century Dictionary and De Vaan find it "improbable" and "far-fetched".

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /im.beːˈkil.lus/, [ɪmbeːˈkɪlːʲʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /im.beˈt͡ʃil.lus/, [imbeˈt͡ʃilːus]

Adjective

imbēcillus (feminine imbēcilla, neuter imbēcillum, comparative imbēcillior); first/second-declension adjective

1. weak, feeble

   Synonyms: dēbilis, īnfirmus, ēnervis

   Antonyms: praevalēns, fortis, validus, strēnuus, compos

2. cowardly

   Antonym: fortis

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	imbēcillus	imbēcilla	imbēcillum		imbēcillī	imbēcillae	imbēcilla
Genitive	imbēcillī	imbēcillae	imbēcillī		imbēcillōrum	imbēcillārum	imbēcillōrum
Dative	imbēcillō		imbēcillō		imbēcillīs
Accusative	imbēcillum	imbēcillam	imbēcillum		imbēcillōs	imbēcillās	imbēcilla
Ablative	imbēcillō	imbēcillā	imbēcillō		imbēcillīs
Vocative	imbēcille	imbēcilla	imbēcillum		imbēcillī	imbēcillae	imbēcilla

Descendants

• Catalan: imbècil
• → English: imbecile
• French: imbécile
  • → German: imbezil
    • → Polish: imbecyl
  • → Turkish: embesil
• Italian: imbecille
• Piedmontese: imbecil
• Portuguese: imbecil
• Romanian: imbecil
• Spanish: imbécil

References

• “imbecillus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “imbecillus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• imbecillus in Enrico Olivetti, editor (2003-2024), Dizionario Latino, Olivetti Media Communication
• imbecillus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Julius Pokorny (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, in 3 vols, Bern, München: Francke Verlag