libellus

Meaning

1. masculinethe inner bark of a tree used for writing tablets
2. masculinea little book, booklet, pamphlet (esp. a book written in pages rather than long rolls)
   Cui dōnō lepidum novum libellumTo whom do I give this elegant new booklet?c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 1.1
   Cūr nōn mitto meōs tibi, Pontiliāne, libellōs?Why do I not send my little books [of poetry] to you, Pontilianus? So that you, Pontilianus, don't send yours to me.86 CE – 103 CE, Martialis, Epigrammata 7.3
3. in pluralmasculinepoetica bookseller's shop
   te Campo quaesivimus minore,You, little Camerius, I’ve looked for you, you, in the Circus, you, in the bookshops,c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 55
4. masculinea memorandum-book, notebook, journal, diary
   si quid memoriae causa rettulit in libellumsupposing that he entered something in a notebook for the purpose of memory44 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Philippicae 1.8.19
5. masculinea memorial
   non illi in libellis laudationum decreta miseruntthey did not send the decreed praises in little written memorials66 BCE, Cicero, Pro Cluentio 69.197
6. masculinea petition
   And it has been said: 'Whoever would dismiss his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce'. Vulgate, Mt 5, 31Dictum est autem: Quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam, det ei libellum repudii.
7. masculinea note of invitation, notice, programme
   qui ea tamquam gladiatorum libellos palam venditent.who sell them openly as if they were gladiatorial programmes44 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Philippicae 2.38.97
   nam et domum mutuatur et auditorium exstruit et subsellia conducit et libellos dispergit.to get the loan of a house, to fit up a recitation-hall, to hire chairs, and to distribute programmes.c. 102 CE, Tacitus, Dialogus de oratoribus 9
8. masculinea public notification, announcement, placard, handbill
   et edebat per libellos circum tribum missos scriptura breuiAnd these he announced in brief notes like the following, circulated in each tribe121 CE, Suetonius, De vita Caesarum Vita divi Iuli 41
9. masculinea letter
   quin etiam libellum ipsius habeoand moreover, I have his own letter68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 6.5
10. masculinepost Augustana libel, lampoon, pasquinade
    Etiam sparsos de se in curia famosos libellos nec expavit et magna cura redarguitHe did not even dread the lampoons against him which were scattered in the senate house, but took great pains to refute them121 CE, Suetonius, De vita Caesarum Vita divi Augusti 55
11. masculinepost Augustana written accusation or complaint
    componunt ipsae per se formantque libellosthey compose and fashion the acussations themselvesc. 100 CE – c. 130 CE, Juvenalis, Saturae 6.244
12. masculinea lawyer's brief
    Dic igitur quid causidicis civilia praestent officia et magno comites in fasce libelli.Then tell me what advocates earn from their services in the courts and from the huge bundle of briefs that keep them company.c. 100 CE – c. 130 CE, Juvenalis, Saturae 7.107
13. masculineAn attestation, certificate

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

Origins

Diminutive from liber (“book”) + -lus.

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

Related words