noun · neutersecond declension
agolum
agolum n (genitive agolī)
Classical[ˈa.ɡɔ.ɫũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈaː.ɡo.lum]
Meaning
- neuterA crook (shepherd's staff)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | agolum | agola |
| genitive | agolī | agolōrum |
| dative | agolō | agolīs |
| accusative | agolum | agola |
| ablative | agolō | agolīs |
| vocative | agolum | agola |
ăgŏlum, i, n. from ago, as cingulum from cingo,
I. a shepherd's staff or crook: pastorale baculum, quo pecudes aguntur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 29 Müll.
Origins
Uncertain. Probably related to agō (“to do”). De Vaan suggests that the term might be an Old Latin spelling for *agulum, which would reflect older *age-los. The linguist Benedicte Nielsen suggests that the term could reflect earlier *h₂aǵ-tlom, itself from *h₂eǵ- + *-tlom, which she suggests may also be the source for Sanskrit aṣṭrā (“goad”). However, this theory requires an initial long-ā vowel. The length of the vowel is not definitively affirmed by the text, though Nielsen suggests that the term coāgulum attests to the existence of initial long-vowels in words derived from the same root.