testula

Latin

Etymology

• Diminutive of testa.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈtes.tu.la/, [ˈt̪ɛs̠t̪ʊɫ̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈtes.tu.la/, [ˈt̪ɛst̪ulä]

Noun

testula f (genitive testulae); first declension

1. potsherd
   • 4 CE – c. 70 CE, Columella, De Re Rustica 11.3.31:

     tum testulae vel conchae quasi sedes singulis subiectae seminibus adobruuntur, ut fiant capita latioris incrementi.

     then little tiles or shells are put under-ground, and placed, as it were seats, under each of the plants, that so their heads may become of a larger growth.

2. (transferred sense) An earthen lamp.
   • c. 400 CE, Diomedes, Ars Grammatica p. 511:

     cede testula trita, sol occurrit tibi per speculum, Panope

3. (transferred sense) A voting-tablet used by the Athenians.
   • 110 BCE – 25 BCE, Nepos, Aristides 1.2:

     tamen a Themistocle collabefactus, testula illa exsilio decem annorum multatus est.

     yet being overborne by Themistocles with the ostracism, he was condemned to be banished for ten years.

Declension

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	testula	testulae
Genitive	testulae	testulārum
Dative	testulae	testulīs
Accusative	testulam	testulās
Ablative	testulā	testulīs
Vocative	testula	testulae

References

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