fulgur
Meaning
- neuterlightning, a flash of lightning
- neuterthunderbolt
- neuterbrightness, splendor
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
lūx subita fulminis in caelō.lūx subita tempestātisignis subitus caelīChoosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Fulgur · Fulguratio · Fulmen
Fulgur, fulgetrum, and fulguratio, denote the shining of the lightning in the horizon, like ἀστραπή; fulgur, as momentary and single flashes; fulguratio, as continued and repeated; whereas fulmen means the lightning that strikes the earth, like κεραυνός. Liv. xl. 59. Fulguribus præstringentibus aciem oculorum, sed fulmina etiam sic undique micabant, ut petit viderentur corpora. Curt. viii. 4, 3. Ovid, Met. iii. 300. Cic. Divin. ii. 19. Plin. H. N. ii. 43. Si in nube erumpat ardens, fulmina; si longiore tractu nitatur fulgetra; his findi nubem, illis perrumpi. Sen. Q. N. i. 1. (iii. 318.)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | fulgur | fulgura |
| genitive | fulguris | fulgurum |
| dative | fulgurī | fulguribus |
| accusative | fulgur | fulgura |
| ablative | fulgure | fulguribus |
| vocative | fulgur | fulgura |
fulgur, ignis qui coruscat fulmine, Non. 5, 33: eodem modo fit fulgur, quod tantum splendet, et fulmen, quod incendit ... fulmen est fulgur intentum, Sen. Q. N. 2, 57, 3: nimbi immixtaque fulgura ventis, Ov. M. 3, 300: credas et rapidum Aetnaeo fulgur ab igne jaci, id. F. 1, 574: passim fremitus et fulgura fiunt, Lucr. 6, 270: CAELI FVLGVRA REGIONIBVS RATIS TEMPERANTO, Cic. Leg. 2, 8, 21: de fulgurum vi dubitare, id. Div. 1, 10, 16; cf.: fulgura interpretantes, id. ib. 1, 6, 12; cf. also: consultus de fulgure haruspex, Suet. Dom. 16; Tac. A. 15, 47 al.: tonitrua et fulgura paulo infirmius expavescebat, Suet. Aug. 90; cf. id. Calig. 51: qui ad omnia fulgura pallent, Juv. 13, 223: tonitruque et fulgure terruit orbem, Ov. M. 14, 817: dium fulgur appellabant diurnum, quod putabant Jovis, ut nocturnum Summani, Fest. p. 75 Müll.; cf.: provorsum fulgur appellatur, quod ignoratur noctu an interdiu sit factum, Fest. p. 229 Müll. N. cr.—feriunt summos fulgura montes, Hor. C. 2, 10, 12; Lucr. 6, 391: caelo ceciderunt plura sereno fulgura, Verg. G. 1, 488.—aliquis senior, qui publica fulgura condit, Juv. 6, 586: † fulgur conditum, Inscr. Orell. 2482; cf. Luc. 1, 606.—solis, Lucr. 2, 164; so, flammaï, id. 1, 725; cf.: nictantia flammae, id. 6, 182: clarae coruscis Fulguribus tedae, id. 5, 297: galeae, Claud. Cons. Hon. 3, 31.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *folgos, from the same root as fulgeō (“flash, lighten”). The expected declension according to regular sound changes would be *fulgus /fulgeris. The nominative fulgus is in fact given by Festus as an alternative form. The oblique stem fulger- is attested in Lucretius ("quasi protelo stimulatur fulgere fulgur"), and also in inscriptions in the spelling of derived words such as fulgerātor. Some Romance descendants also derive from a stem fulger- (although they could alternatively descend from fulgere, the infinitive of the verb fulgō). The usual nominative/accusative/vocative singular form, fulgur, shows replacement of -s with -r, presumably by analogy to the oblique stem. This analogical change is not usual in neuter third-declension nouns, but rōbur n (“oak”), iubar n (“splendor; brightness”) and sulphur n (“brimstone; lightning”) are other possible examples. The usual oblique stem fulgur- shows replacement of expected -er- or -or- with -ur-. Kent 1932 and Parker 1986 suggest that -o- was raised to -u- by assimilation to the vowel in the first syllable in this word, and also in sulphur (though ulcus shows regular ulcer-). Compare also (non-neuter) augur.
- Italianfolgore
- Aromaniansfulgu
- Friulianfolc
- Sicilianfùrguri