noun · masculinesecond declension
cuneus
cuneus m (genitive cuneī)
Classical[ˈkʊ.ne.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈkuː.ne.us]
Mille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- masculinewedge
- masculinetroops arrayed in a wedge formation
- masculinea phalanx (formation)
- masculinea block of seats
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
mīlitēs artē iūnctī ūnā prōcēdunt, prīmō paucī, post plūrēs: sīc aciem hostium rumpunt.cuneus -ī m — in Mille Verba, Castra in Aegyptō
aciēs dentis fōrmācuneus -ī (m) — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 13
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | cuneus | cuneī |
| genitive | cuneī | cuneōrum |
| dative | cuneō | cuneīs |
| accusative | cuneum | cuneōs |
| ablative | cuneō | cuneīs |
| vocative | cunee | cuneī |
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- cuneum facere (Liv. 22. 47)
- to draw up troops in a wedge-formation.
cŭnĕus, i, m. cf. Sanscr. çā, çān, to sharpen; Lat. cos, cautes,
I. a wedge.
I. Prop., Cato, R. R. 10, 3; 11, 4; Att. ap. Cic. Tusc. 2, 10, 23; Verg. G. 1, 144; Hor. C. 1, 35, 18: jamque labant cunei, i. e. the plugs or wedges by which the ship's hull was made tight, Ov. M. 11, 514:
Britannia in cuneum tenuatur, is shaped like a wedge, Tac. Agr. 10; cf. cuneo, II.—* B. Trop.:
hoc cuneo veritatis omnis extruditur haeresis, Tert. adv. Marc. 1, 21 fin.—II. Meton.
A. Troops drawn up for battle in the form of a wedge, Caes. B. G. 6, 39; Liv. 2, 50, 9; 10, 29, 7 al.; Tac. A. 1, 51; id. H. 2, 42; id. G. 6 sq.; Quint. 2, 13, 4; Verg. A. 12, 269; 12, 575 al.; cf. Veg. Mil. 1, 26; 3, 19;
of the Macedonian phalanx: cohortes invicem sub signis, quae cuneum Macedonicum (phalangem ipsi vocant) si possent, vi perrumperent, emittebat, Liv. 32, 17, 11; and Dict. of Antiq.—So of a mob: turbandae rei causā publicani cuneo inruperunt, Liv. 25, 3, 18; of a flight of geese, Plin. 10, 23, 32, § 63.— B. The wedge-form division of the rows of seats in a theatre, Vitr. 5, 6:
ad tumulum cuneosque theatri perferre, etc., Verg. A. 5, 664; Suet. Aug. 44; Juv. 6, 61; cf. Dict. of Antiq.—Hence, * C. In architecture, the wedge-like space between the different painted or inlaid panels in walls, Vitr. 7, 4, 4; 7, 5, 1.
Cŭnĕus, i, m.,
I. a promontory in Lusitania, now Cabo St. Maria, the extreme southern point of Portugal, Mel. 3, 1, 6; Plin. 4, 21, 35, § 116.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
cuneus ī, m
1 CA-, a wedge: cuneos inserens: cuneis scindebant lignum, V.: iamque labant cunei, i. e. the plugs in the hull, O.: Britannia in cuneum tenuatur, like a wedge, Ta.—A wedgeshaped body of troops, wedge: cuneo facto, Cs.: rupere cuneo viam, L.: cuneis coactis, V.: acies per cuneos componitur, Ta.: Macedonius, the phalanx, L.—A division of seats in a theatre (widening from the stage), V., Iu.—Plur, the spectators, Ph.
Origins
Uncertain root, apparently with the suffix -eus. Various problematic comparisons to either Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”) or *ḱúH- (“spike; sting”) (compare Latin culex (“mosquito”), Avestan 𐬯𐬏𐬐𐬁 (sūkā, “needle”), Sanskrit शूक (śūka, “spike; bristle; insect sting”), शूल॑ (śū́la, “spear; stake”) etc.) have been unfruitful; a long vowel (*cūneus) would be expected in the latter case, and the morphology of the -n-eus suffix remains opaque. One possibility is that cuneus is a borrowing from Ancient Greek γώνιος (gṓnios, “corner; angle”) via an Etruscan intermediate which could explain the devoicing, though De Vaan finds this unconvincing. Compare cunnus (“vagina”, derogatory), also of uncertain origin, as well as cutis (“skin”).
Southern Gallo-Romance
- Catalancuny
- Occitancunh
- Occitanconh
- Occitancuenh
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italianconio
- Italiancogno
- Italiancugno
- Neapolitancogno
- Siciliancugnu
- Venetancogn
Northern Gallo-Romance
- Frenchcoinfrom Old French coin
- Frenchécoinçonfrom Old French coin
- Spanishesconcefrom Old French coin
- Franco-Provençalcouen
- Franco-Provençalcugno
- Franco-Provençalcugne
- Irishcúinnefrom Old French coin
- Middle Englishcoynfrom Old French coin
- Scottish Gaeliccùinnfrom Old French coin
Borrowings
- Englishcuneus
- Italiancuneo
- Portuguesecúneo
- Albaniankunj
- Welshcŷnfrom Proto-Brythonic *kün
Elsewhere
- Italiancugnafrom Vulgar Latin *cunea
- Portuguesecunhafrom Vulgar Latin *cunea
- Spanishcuñafrom Vulgar Latin *cunea
- Galiciancuñafrom Vulgar Latin *cunea
Ibero-Romance
- Portuguesecunho
- Spanishcuño
- Galiciancuño
- Galiciancruño
Balkano-Romance
- Romaniancui
- Aromaniancunj
- Aromaniancunjiu
Rhaeto-Romance
- Ladincogn
- Friuliancugn
Gallo-Italic
- Emiliancògn
- Liguriancun-gno
- Liguriancun-ni
- Liguriancuin
- Ossolanociugnfrom Lombard cugn
- Piedmontesecugn
- Piedmontesecun-i
- Piedmontesecuin-i