LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

cūlus

cūlus m (genitive cūlī)
Classical[ˈkuː.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkuː.lus]

Meaning

  1. vulgarthe arse, ass (the anus and buttocks together)
    in Orcī cūlum incidāsmay you fall into Orcus' butthole
    Nōn—ita mē dĭ ament!—quicquam rēferre putāvī,I swear by the gods, I didn't think it mattered one bit, whether I sniffed Aemilius's mouth or his arse.c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 97

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativecūluscūlī
genitivecūlīcūlōrum
dativecūlōcūlīs
accusativecūlumcūlōs
ablativecūlōcūlīs
vocativecūlecūlī

cūlus, i, m. perh. kindr. with κοῖλος, of a curving form; cf. 1. anus,
I. the posteriors, fundament, Cat. 23, 19; 33, 4; 97, 2; Mart. 3, 98, 1.

Origins

Uncertain, though most likely Related to Proto-Celtic *kūlos (“posterior”). The term is traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH-lo-s, from *(s)kewH- (“cover, conceal, hide, skin”). However, de Vaan, following the LIV, rejects the existence of this root, and prefers to reconstruct a Proto-Indo-European *kuH-lo-s, from *kewh₂- (“to strike, cleave”) (which he reconstructs as *keh₂w-; he also adduces Proto-Germanic *hūdiz (“skin, hide”) and Latin cutis (“skin”), both generally derived from *(s)kewH-, to *kewh₂-, and appears to implicitly consider *(s)kewH- a mis-reconstructed form of *kewh₂-.

Descendants
  • Catalancul
  • Frenchcul
  • Englishrecoilfrom French cul
  • Frenchculotte
  • Italianculo
  • Occitancuol
  • Portuguesecufrom Old Galician-Portuguese cuu
  • Spanishculofrom Old Spanish culo
  • Romaniancur
  • Sardiniancolu

Quick answers

What does cūlus mean in Latin?
cūlus, a noun, means “the arse, ass (the anus and buttocks together)”.
What is the genitive of cūlus?
The genitive singular is cūlī. cūlus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce cūlus?
In classical Latin, [ˈkuː.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈkuː.lus].