satelles

Latin

Etymology

Three possibilities are:

• From Old Latin *satro- (“enough, full”) + *leyt- (“to let go”), perhaps comparable to Proto-Germanic *fulgāną (English follow), which might be composed of roots with similar meaning.
• From Etruscan 𐌆𐌀𐌕𐌋𐌀𐌈 (zatlaθ) "follower, guard", maybe connected with camunian zaθalas and zaθaú "stability".
• From Old Latin *satellus, diminutive of *satḗr (“the possessor”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (“to receive, obtain”) (whence also Ancient Greek κτάομαι (ktáomai) and Old Persian 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 (x-š-ç-p-a-v-a /⁠xšaçapāvā⁠/)).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /saˈtel.les/, [s̠äˈt̪ɛlːʲɛs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /saˈtel.les/, [säˈt̪ɛlːes]

Noun

satelles m or f (genitive satellitis); third declension

1. attendant, guard, bodyguard

   Synonym: stīpātor

2. accomplice, follower

   tibi apparuit inter Seianianos satellites mortem unam patere servitutis fugam.

   It was clear to you that, surrounded as he was by the followers of Sejanus, death was the only way to escape from slavery.

Declension

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	satelles	satellitēs
Genitive	satellitis	satellitum
Dative	satellitī	satellitibus
Accusative	satellitem	satellitēs
Ablative	satellite	satellitibus
Vocative	satelles	satellitēs

Descendants

• Italian: satellite
• → Middle French: satellite
  • French: satellite
  • → Dutch: satelliet
  • → English: satellite
• Portuguese: satélite
• Spanish: satélite
• Swedish: satellit

References

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