LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

mollestra

mollestra f (genitive mollestrae)
Classical[mɔlˈlɛs.tra]Ecclesiastical[molˈlɛs.tra]

Meaning

  1. femininerareA sheep's felt for wiping helmets
    Mollestras dicebant pelles ovillas, quibus galeas extergebant.They gave the name "mollestras" to sheepskins with which they wiped helmets.1839 [8th century CE], Paulus Diaconus, edited by Karl Otfried Müller, Excerpta ex libris Pompeii Festi De significatione verborum, page 135, line 3:
    Item a mollio hec mollestra -e, pellis ovina, quia mollis sit, et hic et hec mollis -e, quia vigorem sexus enervati corporis dedecoret et quasi mulier emolliatur, et comparaturafter 1150, Huguccio of Pisa, Derivationes M 129

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemollestramollestrae
genitivemollestraemollestrārum
dativemollestraemollestrīs
accusativemollestrammollestrās
ablativemollestrāmollestrīs
vocativemollestramollestrae

† mollestra, ae, f.,
I. a sheepskin, sheep'sfelt, for wiping helmets, Paul. ex Fest. p. 135 Mull.

Origins

Unknown. Possibly related to Ancient Greek μηλωτή (mēlōtḗ, “sheepskin”). Derived by the medieval lexicographer Huguccio of Pisa from molliō. For a formation such as molleō (“to be soft”) + -tra (instrumental suffix), which would be unusual, compare mulctra, mōnstrum, capistrum.

Quick answers

What does mollestra mean in Latin?
mollestra, a noun, means “A sheep's felt for wiping helmets”.
What is the genitive of mollestra?
The genitive singular is mollestrae. mollestra is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce mollestra?
In classical Latin, [mɔlˈlɛs.tra]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [molˈlɛs.tra].