lacertus

English

Alternative forms

• lacert

Etymology

From Late Latin lacertus (“muscle”), from Classical Latin lacertus (“upper arm”), possibly from lacerta (“lizard”). For the semantics, compare muscle from mūsculus (“little mouse”), derived from a supposed resemblance to little mice.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ləˈsɝː.təs/
• Hyphenation: la‧cer‧tus

Noun

lacertus (plural lacerti)

1. (anatomy) A bundle or fascicle of muscular fibres.

References

• “lacertus”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• "lacert, n.²", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /laˈker.tus/, [ɫ̪äˈkɛrt̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laˈt͡ʃer.tus/, [läˈt͡ʃɛrt̪us]

Etymology 1

Lacertus

Noun

lacertus m (genitive lacertī, feminine lacerta); second declension

1. Alternative form of lacerta: a lizard

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lacertus	lacertī
Genitive	lacertī	lacertōrum
Dative	lacertō	lacertīs
Accusative	lacertum	lacertōs
Ablative	lacertō	lacertīs
Vocative	lacerte	lacertī

Etymology 2

Lacertus

Uncertain. Possibly from lacerta (“lizard”), as musculus derived from a supposed resemblance to little mice; possibly from Proto-Indo-European *Hlak-, *lēk- (“leg, q.v.”)

Noun

lacertus m (genitive lacertī); second declension

1. (anatomy) The muscular part of the upper arm, including the shoulder, biceps, and triceps.
2. (anatomy) The arm.
3. (anatomy, Late Latin) A muscle.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	lacertus	lacertī
Genitive	lacertī	lacertōrum
Dative	lacertō	lacertīs
Accusative	lacertum	lacertōs
Ablative	lacertō	lacertīs
Vocative	lacerte	lacertī

Related terms

• lacerō
• lacertōsus
• lacertulus

 

Further reading

• “lacertus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “lacertus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• lacertus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• "lacert, n.²", in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press.