LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

antelūcānus

antelūcānus (feminine antelūcāna, neuter antelūcānum)
Classical[an.tɛ.ɫuːˈkaː.nʊs]Ecclesiastical[an.te.luˈkaː.nus]

Meaning

  1. adjectivebefore daylight or the dawn

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeantelūcānusantelūcānaantelūcānum
genitiveantelūcānīantelūcānaeantelūcānī
dativeantelūcānōantelūcānaeantelūcānō
accusativeantelūcānumantelūcānamantelūcānum
ablativeantelūcānōantelūcānāantelūcānō
vocativeantelūcāneantelūcānaantelūcānum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativeantelūcānīantelūcānaeantelūcāna
genitiveantelūcānōrumantelūcānārumantelūcānōrum
dativeantelūcānīsantelūcānīsantelūcānīs
accusativeantelūcānōsantelūcānāsantelūcāna
ablativeantelūcānīsantelūcānīsantelūcānīs
vocativeantelūcānīantelūcānaeantelūcāna

antĕ-lūcānus, a, um, adj. lux,
I. before light, before day (class.; only in prose): ex antelucano tempore, Cic. Fam. 15, 4: gutta roris antelucani, Vulg. Sap. 11, 23: industria, Cic. Tusc. 4, 19, 44: cenae, which continue the whole night until daybreak, id. Cat. 2, 10: lucubratio, Col. 11, 2, 55: spiritus, i. e. ventus, Vitr. 1, 6; so, aurae, Plin. 18, 6, 7, § 2.—Hence, subst.: antĕlūcā-num, i, n., the dawn (eccl. Lat.): doctrinam quasi antelucanum illumino omnibus, I make to shine as the dawn, * Vulg. Eccli. 24, 44.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ent-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énts
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂énti
  4. Proto-Italic*anti
  5. Latinantelūcānus

Proto-Indo-European *lewk- Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *léwks Proto-Italic *louks Latin lūx Proto-Indo-European *-nós Proto-Italic *-nos Proto-Italic *-ānos Latin -ānus Latin antelūcānus From ante (“before”) + lūx (“light”) + -ānus.

Quick answers

What does antelūcānus mean in Latin?
antelūcānus, a adjective, means “before daylight or the dawn”.
How do you pronounce antelūcānus?
In classical Latin, [an.tɛ.ɫuːˈkaː.nʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [an.te.luˈkaː.nus].
Where does antelūcānus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- → Proto-Indo-European *h₂énts → Proto-Indo-European *h₂énti → Proto-Italic *anti → Latin antelūcānus.