noctula

Meaning

1. Late Latinfemininepresumably same sense as noctua
   iubebant nutrientibus ut ubera omnium animalium manducarent vespertilionum etiam conbustorum vel noctule cineres cum vino bibere dabant vel cum aqua solutumThey would have nursing women eat the udders of any animal and even drink solutions of water or wine containing the ashes of incinerated bats or night-owl(s).ca. 5th–6th c. CE, Mustio, Gynaecia, section LXXXIII:
2. Medieval Latinfemininelatinisation of the Italian nottola (name for various bats and birds)
   Ululae sunt aves nocturnales, dictae ab ululatione vocis quam efferunt, quas vulgo cavones vel noctulas dicunt.Screech-owls are nocturnal birds named after the cacophany that they emit. They are called cavones or noctulas in the vernacular.Ca. 1220's, Sermon by Saint Anthony of Padua
   et medietatem castellarii seu casalis quod dicitur Gripta de Noctulis …and half of the estate known as Gripta de Noctulis [sc. Grotta di Nottole]…1338, Deed of sale in Vicovaro, Italy
3. New Latinfemininea noctule
   Secretum in Vespertilione murino et V. noctula foetidum atque adiposum auctore Ill. Tiedemann alis lubricandis inservit.[The species] Vespertilio murinus and Vespertilio noctula use a foul greasy secretion to lubricate their wings, according to Tiedemann.1830, Johannes Müller, De glandularum secernentium structura penitiori earumque prima formatione in homine atque animalibus, page 40:

Declension

Origins

From noctua (“night-owl”) + -ula (diminutive suffix). Sense 2 borrowed from Italian nottola and sense 3 from French noctule, both ultimately derived from the Latin word (sense 1). Among the earliest examples of its scientific usage is the species name Nyctalus noctula, coined in 1774 by Schreber.