LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

novācula

novācula f (genitive novāculae)
Classical[nɔˈwaː.kʊ.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[noˈvaː.ku.la]

Meaning

  1. a sharp knife (which was used for shaving)
  2. dagger, razor

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativenovāculanovāculae
genitivenovāculaenovāculārum
dativenovāculaenovāculīs
accusativenovāculamnovāculās
ablativenovāculānovāculīs
vocativenovāculanovāculae

nŏvācŭla, ae, f. novo,
I. a sharp knife.
A. Lit.: cutem raporum novaculā decerpere, Col. 12, 56, 1; Plin. 22, 23, 47, § 99.—
B. Esp.
1. A razor: ut ex novaculā comperistis, tonsor est, Petr. 103: aream (capitis) novaculā radere, Cels. 6, 4: nudare caput, Mart. 2, 66, 7: secare fauces, Suet. Calig. 23; Plin. 29, 6, 34, § 107: Tarquinius dixit, se cogitāsse, cotem novaculā posse praecidi, Cic. Div. 1, 17, 32; cf. Liv. 1, 36; Val. Max. 1, 4, 1.—
2. A dagger: stringitur in densā nec caeca novacula turbā, Mart. 7, 61, 7.—
II. Transf., the name of a fish, otherwise unknown, Plin. 32, 2, 5, § 14.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kes-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ksnéwti
  3. Proto-Indo-European*ksnew-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*ksnéw-o-
  5. Proto-Italic*(k)snow-ā-
  6. Latinnovācula

Latin novācula Perhaps an agent noun in -cula built to a denominative verb itself derived from Proto-Indo-European *ksnéw-o- (“scraped”), from the root *ksnew-. See also Latin saucius, Ancient Greek ξύω (xúō), and Old English besnyþian.

Descendants
  • Catalannavalla
  • Portuguesenavalhafrom Old Galician-Portuguese navalla
  • Spanishnavaja
  • Portuguesenovácula
  • Asturiannavaya
  • Mirandesenabalha
  • Galiciannavallafrom Old Galician-Portuguese navalla

In English words that came into English from novācula

  • novaculitenovācula

Quick answers

What does novācula mean in Latin?
novācula, a noun, means “a sharp knife (which was used for shaving); dagger, razor”.
What is the genitive of novācula?
The genitive singular is novāculae. novācula is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce novācula?
In classical Latin, [nɔˈwaː.kʊ.ɫa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [noˈvaː.ku.la].
Where does novācula come from?
Proto-Indo-European *kes- → Proto-Indo-European *ksnéwti → Proto-Indo-European *ksnew- → Proto-Indo-European *ksnéw-o- → Proto-Italic *(k)snow-ā- → Latin novācula.