LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

lībella

lībella f (genitive lībellae)
Classical[liːˈbɛl.la]Ecclesiastical[liˈbɛl.la]

Meaning

  1. An as (the tenth part of a denarius)
  2. A level (builder's tool)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativelībellalībellae
genitivelībellaelībellārum
dativelībellaelībellīs
accusativelībellamlībellās
ablativelībellālībellīs
vocativelībellalībellae

lībella, ae, f. dim. libra.
I. An as, a small silver coin, the tenth part of a denarius: nummi denarii decuma libella, quod libram pondo aeris valebat, et erat ex argento parva, Varr. L. L. 5, § 174 Müll.: librales, unde etiam nunc libella dicitur et dupondius, appendebantur asses, Plin. 33, 3, 13, § 42; Cato, R. R. 15, 1: sunt enim in sestertio libellae decem, singulae viginti, teruncii quadraginta, Volus. Maec. 66.—
B. In gen.
1. Prov. for a very small sum of money, as with us a farthing, groat, cent: una libella liber possum fieri, Plaut. Cas. 2, 5, 8; cf. id. Capt. 5, 1, 27: tibi libellam argenti numquam credam, id. Ps. 2, 2, 34: quoi neque libellai spes sit usquam gentium, id. ib. 1, 1, 96: quom libella nusquamst, nisi, etc., id. ib. 4, 7, 47: quis Volcatio unam libellam dedisset? Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 10, § 26.—Hence, ad libellam, i. q. ad assem, to a farthing, to a cent, exactly, Cic. Rosc. Com. 4, 11.—
2. In inheritances: ex libella, i. q. ex asse, sole heir: Curius fecit palam te ex libella, me ex teruncio, Cic. Att. 7, 2, 3.—
II. An instrument for detecting any variation from a perfectly horizontal surface, a level, water-level, plummetline: libella aliqua si ex parti claudicat hilum, Lucr. 4, 515: collocare et expolire aliquid ad regulam et libellam, Vitr. 1, 6, 6; cf. Plin. 36, 25, 63, § 188: structuram (parietis) ad normam et libellam fieri, et ad perpendiculum respondere oportet, id. 36, 22, 51, § 172: locus qui est ad libellam aequus, quite, perfectly level, Varr. R. R. 1, 6 fin.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *leyH-der. Proto-Indo-European *-dʰromder. Proto-Italic *līðrā? Latin lībra Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -la Latin lībella From lībra + -la.

Descendants
  • Englishlibella
  • Italianlivella
  • Catalanlibèl·lulafrom New Latin lībellula
  • Frenchlibellulefrom New Latin lībellula
  • GermanLibellefrom New Latin lībellula
  • Italianlibellulafrom New Latin lībellula
  • Portugueselibélulafrom New Latin lībellula
  • Romanianlibelulăfrom New Latin lībellula
  • Spanishlibélulafrom New Latin lībellula
  • Catalanllivellfrom Vulgar Latin *lībellus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesLibellaLibella 1. The diminutive form of libra, a Roman pound, and naturally applied not to the heavy pound of copper, but its equivalent in silver. Varro wr…

Quick answers

What does lībella mean in Latin?
lībella, a noun, means “An as (the tenth part of a denarius); A level (builder's tool)”.
What is the genitive of lībella?
The genitive singular is lībellae. lībella is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce lībella?
In classical Latin, [liːˈbɛl.la]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [liˈbɛl.la].