LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

nucleus

nucleus m (genitive nucleī)
Classical[ˈnʊ.kɫe.ʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈnuː.kle.us]

Meaning

  1. literallymasculine(small) nut
  2. masculinekernel
  3. figurativelymasculinecore
  4. masculinenucleus

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativenucleusnucleī
nuculeī
genitivenucleī
nuculeī		nucleōrum
nuculeōrum
dativenucleō
nuculeō		nucleīs
nuculeīs
accusativenucleum
nuculeum		nucleōs
nuculeōs
ablativenucleō
nuculeō		nucleīs
nuculeīs
vocativenuclee
nuculee		nucleī
nuculeī

nū^clĕus (nŭcŭlĕus), i, m. for nuculeus, from nux,
I. a little nut.
I. Lit.
A. A nut; applied also to fruits resembling a nut: nucleus amygdalae, Plin. 15, 13, 12, § 42: avellanae, id. 37, 4, 15, § 56: pinearum nucum, id. 15, 10, 9, § 35; cf. pineus, Cels. 2, 22.—Prov.: e nuce nuculeum qui esse vult, frangit nucem, he who would eat the kernel of a nut breaks the nut, i. e. he who desires an advantage should not shun the labor of earning it, Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 55: nuculeum amisi, retinui pigneri putamina, I have lost the kernel and kept the shell, id. Capt. 3, 4, 122.—
B. The hard, uneatable kernel, the stone of fruits: nuculei olivarum, Plin. 37, 11, 73, § 188: persicorum, id. 23, 7, 67, § 132: cerasorum, id. 23, 7, 72, § 141: lignosus nucleus, id. 13, 19, 34, § 112: acini, id. 23, 1, 9, § 13.—
II. Transf.
A. The kernel, the inner part, inside of a thing: nucleus gallae, Plin. 24, 4, 5, § 10: myrrhae, id. 12, 16, 35, § 70: allii, id. 19, 6, 34, § 111: conchae, pearls, id. 9, 35, 55, § 111.—
B. The kernel, i. e. the hardest, firmest, most solid part of a thing: pinguitudinis (terrae), Plin. 17, 6, 4, § 42: ferri, id. 34, 14, 41, § 144; 36, 25, 62, § 187: insuper ex testā nucleus inducatur, Vitr. 7, 1.

Origins

A diminutive of nux (“nut”), with an irregular change of gender from feminine to masculine.

Elsewhere
  • Catalannucli
  • Englishnucleus
  • Frenchnucléus
  • Romaniannucleufrom French nucléus
  • Italiannucleo
  • Portuguesenúcleo
  • Spanishnúcleo
  • Asturiannucleu
  • Dutchnucleus
  • Galiciannúcleo
Italo-Romance
  • Italiannocciolo
  • Siciliannòzzulu

Quick answers

What does nucleus mean in Latin?
nucleus, a noun, means “(small) nut; kernel; core”.
What is the genitive of nucleus?
The genitive singular is nucleī. nucleus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce nucleus?
In classical Latin, [ˈnʊ.kɫe.ʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈnuː.kle.us].