LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

malleolus

malleolus m (genitive malleolī)
Classical[malˈle.ɔ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[malˈlɛː.o.lus]

Meaning

  1. masculineA small hammer or mallet.
  2. masculineA mallet-shoot or hammer-shaped slip or cutting; literally, a “little hammer.” A propagation method where a young, green shoot is harvested with a small, horizontal section of the older, woody branch still attached at the base. This “T” junction resembles a mallet — the older wood forms the “head” and the new shoot forms the “handle” — providing a sturdy, nutrient-rich base for new roots to develop.
    Malleolī, plantae, sarmenta, vīvirādīcēs, propāginēs, nōnne efficiunt, ut quemvīs cum admīrātiōne dēlectent?[On the joy of farming, and specifically the care of vines:] Do not the mallet-shoots, the sprouts, the cuttings, the quicksets, and the offshoots bring it about that they delight anyone with a sense of wonder?106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Cato Maior de Senectute 15.52
  3. masculineA kind of fire-dart.
  4. masculineThe tongue of a shoe buckle.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemalleolusmalleolī
genitivemalleolīmalleolōrum
dativemalleolōmalleolīs
accusativemalleolummalleolōs
ablativemalleolōmalleolīs
vocativemalleolemalleolī

mallĕŏlus, i, m. dim. malleus,
I. a small hammer or mallet.
I. Lit., Cels. 8, 3, 29; Vulg. Jud. 4, 21: verba mea sunt quasi malleus conterens petram, id. Jer. 23, 29.—
II. Transf.
A. A hammershaped slip, a mallet-shoot for planting: malleolus novellus est palmes, innatus prioris anni flagello, cognominatusque a similitudine rei, quod in ea parte, quae deciditur, ex vetere sarmento prominens utrinque, malleoli speciem praebet, Col. 3, 6, 3; cf. Plin. 17, 21, 35, § 156: malleolos pangere, to set in, plant, Col. 3, 3, 12; so, deponere, id. ib.: conserere, id. 3, 14, 2: demergere, id. 3, 18, 2: serere sulco, vel scrobe, Plin. 17, 22, 35, § 169.—
B. In milit. lang., a kind of fire-dart, Amm. 23, 4, 14; cf. Paul. ex Fest. p. 135 Müll.: malleoli, manipuli spartei pice contecti, qui incensi aut in muros aut in testudines jaciuntur, Non. 556, 11 sq.: partim malleolos, partim fasces sarmentorum incensos supra vallum, etc., Sisenn. ap. Non. 556, 13: malleolos et faces ad inflammandam urbem comparare, Cic. Cat. 1, 13, 32; cf. id. Mil. 24, 64: faces taedamque et malleolos stupae illitos pice parari jubet, Liv 42, 64, 3; cf. id. 38, 6, 2. —
C. The tongue of a shoe-buckle: malleoli ossei vel aerei, Isid. 19, 34, 10.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mer-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*merh₂-?
  4. Latinmalleolus

Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -ulus Latin -olus Latin malleolus From malleus (“a hammer, mallet”) + -olus.

Elsewhere
  • Catalanmal·lèol
  • Englishmalleolus
  • Frenchmalléole
  • Italianmalleolo
  • Spanishmaléolo
Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseamalhó
  • Portuguesemalhó
  • Spanishmajuelo
  • Asturianmayuelu
  • Galicianamalló
  • Galicianamalloa
  • Galicianamallón
  • Galicianmalló
  • Galicianmalloa
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanmallol
  • Occitanmalhòl
Balkan Romance
  • Romanianmăior
Italo-Romance
  • Italianmagliolo

In English words that came into English from malleolus

  • malleolusmalleolus

Quick answers

What does malleolus mean in Latin?
malleolus, a noun, means “A small hammer or mallet.; A mallet-shoot or hammer-shaped slip or cutting; literally, a “little hammer.” A propagation method where a young, green shoot is harvested with a small, horizontal section of the older, woody ”.
What is the genitive of malleolus?
The genitive singular is malleolī. malleolus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce malleolus?
In classical Latin, [malˈle.ɔ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [malˈlɛː.o.lus].
Where does malleolus come from?
Proto-Indo-European *melh₂-? → Proto-Indo-European *mer-? → Proto-Indo-European *merh₂-? → Latin malleolus.