LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

cauda

cauda f (genitive caudae)
Classical[ˈkau̯.da]Ecclesiastical[ˈkaːu̯.da]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininetail (animal appendage)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

extrēma pars animālis post tergum; equus caudam longam habet.
cauda -ae f — in Mille Verba, Animālia

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecauda
cōda		caudae
cōdae
genitivecaudae
cōdae		caudārum
cōdārum
dativecaudae
cōdae		caudīs
cōdīs
accusativecaudam
cōdam		caudās
cōdās
ablativecaudā
cōdā		caudīs
cōdīs
vocativecauda
cōda		caudae
cōdae

cauda (also cōda, like codex, plostrum, etc., Varr. ap. Non. p. 86, 19; id. R. R. 2, 7, 5; Petr. 44, 12; Fest. p. 178, 29; Paul. ex Fest. p. 38, 17 Müll.) [etym. dub.; cf. codex], ae, f.,
I. the tail of animals, Lucr. 2, 806; 3, 658; Cic. de Or. 3, 59, 222; id. Fin. 3, 5, 18; Plin. 11, 50, 111, § 264; Varr. R. R. 2, 2, 3; 2, 5, 8.—
2. Prov.
a. Caudam jactare popello, to flatter, fawn upon (the figure taken from dogs), Pers. 4, 15.—
b. Caudam trahere, to have a tail stuck on in mockery, to be made a fool of, Hor. S. 2, 3, 53; Vell. 2, 83, 3; cf.: vitium bono viro quasi caudam turpissimam apponere, Lact. 6, 18, 16. —*
3. In a pun, the end of the word, or the tail of the animal: Verris, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 78, § 191.—
II. Transf.: membrum virile, Hor. S. 1, 2, 45; 2, 7, 49.—
III. Trop., of the addition to the name Verres, making it Verrucius: videtis extremam partem nominis, codam illam Verrinam tamquam in luto demersam in liturā, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 78, § 191.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *kaudā (“tail”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂u-d-eh₂ (“cleaved, separate”), from *keh₂w- (“to strike”). Compare cūdō (“to beat, hammer”), caudex (“tree trunk, stump”), Lithuanian kuodas (“tuft”).

Descendants
  • Portuguesecauda
  • Spanishcauda
  • Romaniancoadă
  • Vulgar Latincōda
  • Dalmatiancauda
  • Old Galician-Portuguesecauda

Quick answers

What does cauda mean in Latin?
cauda, a noun, means “tail (animal appendage)”.
What is the genitive of cauda?
The genitive singular is caudae. cauda is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce cauda?
In classical Latin, [ˈkau̯.da]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkaːu̯.da].