noun · femininefirst declension
furca
furca f (genitive furcae)
Classical[ˈfʊr.ka]Ecclesiastical[ˈfur.ka]
Meaning
- feminineA two-pronged fork, pitchfork.
- feminineA fork-shaped prop, pole or stake.
- feminineAn instrument of punishment, a frame in the form of a fork, which was placed on a culprit's neck, while his hands were fastened to the two ends; yoke.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
īnstrūmentum duōrum dentiumfurca -ae (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 16
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | furca furcilla | furcae furcillae |
| genitive | furcae furcillae | furcārum furcillārum |
| dative | furcae furcillae | furcīs furcillīs |
| accusative | furcam furcillam | furcās furcillās |
| ablative | furcā furcillā | furcīs furcillīs |
| vocative | furca furcilla | furcae furcillae |
furca, ae, f. Sanscr. bhur-ig, shears; cf. Lat. forceps, forfex; also Gr. φάρος, plough; Lat. forāre;
Engl. bore, Georg Curtius Gr. Etym. p. 299; but Corss. refers furca to root dhar-,=fero, as a prop. support; v. Ausspr. 1, 149, I. a two-pronged fork.
I. Lit.:
exacuunt alii vallos furcasque bicornes, Verg. G. 1, 264: valentes, id. ib. 2, 359: furcis detrudi, Liv. 28, 3, 7; cf. Caes. B. C. 2, 11, 2. —Prov.: naturam expellas furcā, tamen usque recurret, with might and main, Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 24 (v. furcilla).—II. Transf., of things shaped like a fork.
A. A forkshaped prop, pole, or stake, for carrying burdens on the back or shoulder, Plaut. Cas. 2, 8, 2;
for supporting the seats of a theatre, Liv. 1, 35, 9; for a vine, Plin. 14, 2, 4, § 32; for fishing-nets, id. 9, 8, 9, § 31; for the gable of a house, Ov. M. 8, 700; a frame on which meat was suspended in the chimney, id. ib. 8, 648.—B. An instrument of punishment in the form of a fork (V or II), which was placed on the culprit's neck, while his hands were fastened to the two ends, a yoke (cf.: crux, gabalus, patibulum; hence, furcifer): To. Satis sumpsimus jam supplici. Do. Fateor, manus vobis do. To. Post dabis sub furcis, Plaut. Pers. 5, 2, 71:
canem et furcam ferre, id. Cas. 2, 6, 37: servus per circum, cum virgis caederetur, furcam ferens ductus est, Cic. Div. 1, 26, 55: servus sub furca caesus, Liv. 2, 36, 1 Drak.; Val. Max. 1, 7, 4; Lact. 2, 7, 20: sub furca vinctus inter verbera et cruciatus, Liv. 1, 26, 10: cervicem inserere furcae, Suet. Ner. 49; Eutr. 7, 5; Prud. στεφ. 10, 851.—Hence poet. to designate the worst condition of slavery: ibis sub furcam prudens, Hor. S. 2, 7, 66.—C. A fork-shaped gallows:
aliquem furcā figere, Dig. 48, 19, 28 fin.: furcae subicere, ib. 9: in furcam tollere, ib. 38: in furcam suspendere, ib. 13, 6: in furcam damnare, ib. 49, 16, 3: canes vivi in furca, sambucea arbore fixi, Plin. 29. 4, 14, § 57.—D. A fork-shaped yoke in which young bullocks were put to be tamed, Varr. R. R. 1, 20, 2.—
E. Furcae cancrorum, the claws of a crab, App. Mag. p. 297. —
F. Furcae Caudinae, the narrow pass of Caudium, the Caudine Forks, usually called Furculae Caudinae (v. furcula, II. and Caudium), Val. Max. 5, 1, 5 ext.; 7, 2, 17 ext.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
furca ae, f
1 FOR-, a two-pronged fork : bicornes, V.: valentes, V.: furcis detrudi, L.— Prov.: Naturam expellas furcā, tamen usque recurret, with violence , H.— A fork-shaped prop, split stake, triangular brace : furcis spectacula sustinentibus, L.: furcas subiere columnae, O.— A wooden yoke (on the neck of a slave, for punishment): per circum furcam ferens ductus est: servus sub furcā caesus, L.: sub furcā vinctus, L.: Ibis sub furcam, H.
Origins
Of uncertain origin. In its primary sense of "fork", furca appears to be derived from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰerk(ʷ)-, *ǵʰerg(ʷ)- (“fork”), although the development of the -c- is difficult to explain. In the other senses, this derivation is unlikely. For those, perhaps it is connected to Proto-Germanic *furkaz, *firkalaz (“stake, stick, pole, post”), from Proto-Indo-European *perg- (“pole, post”). If so, this would relate the word to Old English forclas pl (“bolt”), Old Saxon ferkal (“lock, bolt, bar”), Old Norse forkr (“pole, staff, stick”), Norwegian fork (“stick, bat”), Swedish fork (“pole”). Compare also Lithuanian žer̃gti (“to spread the legs”), ži̇̀rklės (“scissors”), though the mismatch of the vowels between the Lithuanian and Latin forms is hard to explain.
Northern Gallo-Romance
- Frenchfourchefrom Old French furche
- Englishfourchefrom Old French furche
- Englishfourcheefrom Old French furche
- Frenchfourchéfrom Old French furche
- Walloonfotchefrom Old French furche
- Normanfrouquefrom Old French furche
Ibero-Romance
- Portugueseforcafrom Old Galician-Portuguese forca
- Portuguesefurcafrom Old Galician-Portuguese forca
- Spanishhorcafrom Old Spanish forca
- Spanishhuercafrom Old Spanish forca
- Asturianforca
- Galicianforcafrom Old Galician-Portuguese forca
- Galicianfurcofrom Old Galician-Portuguese forca
- Cebuanohorkafrom Old Spanish forca
Insular Romance
- Sardinianfrúca
- Sardinianfurca
Southern Gallo-Romance
- Catalanforca
- Occitanforca
Balkano-Romance
- Romanianfurcă
- Aromanianfurcã
Italo-Dalmatian
- Italianforca
- Dalmatianfuarca
- Neapolitanforca
- Sicilianfurca
- Venetanforca
Rhaeto-Romance
- Friulianforcje
- Romanshfurtga
- Romanshfuortga
- Romanshfuorcha
Gallo-Italic
- Ligurianfórca
Borrowings
- Albanianfurkë
- Irishforcfrom Old Irish forc
- Scottish Gaelicforcfrom Old Irish forc
- Scottish Gaelicforcafrom Old Irish forc
- Bretonforc'hfrom Proto-Brythonic *forx
- Cornishforghfrom Proto-Brythonic *forx
- Welshfforchfrom Proto-Brythonic *forx
- Proto-West Germanic*furkō