noun · femininethird declension
amussis
amussis f (genitive amussis)
Classical[aˈmʊs.sɪs]Ecclesiastical[aˈmus.sis]
Meaning
- femininea ruler, a mason's or carpenter's straight edge
- feminineprecision
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | amussis | amussēs |
| genitive | amussis | amussium |
| dative | amussī | amussibus |
| accusative | amussim amussem | amussēs amussīs |
| ablative | amussī amusse | amussibus |
| vocative | amussis | amussēs |
ămussis, is, f. etym. unc.; perh. from am- and assis = axis, a plank, i. e. something flat, straight, moved about a surface in adjusting it (acc. amussim, v. Neue, Formenl. I. p. 198; abl. and plur. not used; only ante- and post-class.),
I. a rule or level, used by carpenters, masons, etc.: amussis: tabula, quā utuntur ad saxa leviganda, Varr. ap. Non. p. 9, 17; Aus. Idyll. 16, 11; cf. Sisenn. ap. Charis. p. 178 P.; Paul. ex Fest. p. 6 Müll. —In class. Lat. in the adv. phrases,
I. ad ămussim (also written as one word, ad-ămussim or ătamussim), according to a rule or level, i. e. accurately, exactly:
adamussim non est numerus, Varr. R. R. 2, 1, 26: talionem ad amussim aequiparare, Gell. 20, 1, 34 Hertz: ut judicium esse factum atamussim diceres, id. 1, 4, 1 id.—II. exămussim, according to a rule, exactly, quite:
Ne ista edepol, si vera haec loquitur, examussimst optuma, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 213 (with the forms adamussim and examussim, cf. the Gr. ἐκποδών and ἐμποδών).Origins
Uncertain. It has been proposed that the term derives from ad- + Proto-Indo-European *mod-ti-, itself from the root *med- (“to measure”). However, De Vaan suggests that the existence of an o-grade preform *mod-ti- is “questionable.” Another theory suggests that the term derives from ἄμυξις (ámuxis, “tearing, mauling”), from ἀμύσσω (amússō, “to scratch, lacerate”). However, this latter proposal is rejected by the philologist Manu Leumann.