LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

hirūdō

hirūdō f (genitive hirūdinis)
Classical[hɪˈruː.doː]Ecclesiastical[iˈruː.do]

Meaning

  1. A leech.

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativehirūdōhirūdinēs
genitivehirūdinishirūdinum
dativehirūdinīhirūdinibus
accusativehirūdinemhirūdinēs
ablativehirūdinehirūdinibus
vocativehirūdōhirūdinēs

hĭrūdo, ĭnis, f. (also called sanguisūga),
I. a leech, blood-sucker, Plin. 32, 10, 42, § 122: ego me convortam in hirudinem atque exsugebo sanguinem, Plaut. Ep. 2, 2, 4.—Fig., of any thing that exhausts, etc.: aerarii, Cic. Att. 1, 16, 11: non missura cutem, nisi plena cruoris, hirudo, Hor. A. P. 476.

Origins

Unknown. Seemingly a parallel formation with testūdō (from testū), but no stem *hiru- is known. Stifter suggests it may be related to Old Irish giritán (“periwinkle”).

Descendants
  • Englishhirudin
  • Englishhirudinoid
  • Italianirudine
  • Occitaniruge
  • Portuguesehirudíneo
  • Spanishhirudíneo
  • Esperantohirudo
  • TranslingualHirudo

In English words that came into English from hirūdō

  • hirudinehirūdō

Quick answers

What does hirūdō mean in Latin?
hirūdō, a noun, means “A leech.”.
What is the genitive of hirūdō?
The genitive singular is hirūdinis. hirūdō is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce hirūdō?
In classical Latin, [hɪˈruː.doː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [iˈruː.do].