LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neutersecond declension

orichalcum

orichalcum n (genitive orichalcī)
Classical[ɔ.rɪˈkʰaɫ.kũː]Ecclesiastical[o.riˈkal.kum]

Meaning

  1. neuterbrass
    Ipse dehinc auro squalentem alboque orichalco / circumdat loricam umeris, simul aptat habendo 1910 translation by Theodore C. Williams29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 12.87 (dactylic hexameter)
    Tibia non ut nunc orichalco vincta tubaeque.c. 19 BCE, Horatius, Ars Poetica 202 (dactylic hexameter)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeorichalcum
auricalcum		auricalca
aurichalca
genitiveorichalcī
auricalcī, aurichalcī		auricalcōrum
aurichalcōrum
dativeorichalcō
auricalcō, aurichalcō		auricalcīs
aurichalcīs, orichalcīs
accusativeorichalcum
auricalcum		auricalca
aurichalca
ablativeorichalcō
auricalcō, aurichalcō		auricalcīs
aurichalcīs, orichalcīs
vocativeorichalcum
auricalcum		auricalca
aurichalca

ŏrĭchalcum (also erroneously written aurĭchalcum, as if from aurum), i, n., = ὀρείχαλκος,
I. yellow copper ore, also the brass made from it.
I. Lit., Cic. Off. 3, 23, 92; Hor. A. P. 202: album, Verg. A. 12, 87.—It was highly prized by the ancients, Plaut. Curc. 1, 3, 46; id. Mil. 3, 1, 61; id. Ps. 2, 3, 22; cf. Plin. 34, 2, 2, § 4 (al. aurichalci). —
II. Transf., of brass implements.—So of a brazen tuba, Val. Fl. 3, 61.—Of arms of brass, Stat. Th. 10, 660.

Origins

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὀρείχαλκος (oreíkhalkos). Initially borrowed with a heavily distorted first element as aurichalcum, then partially restored to the Greek.

Descendants
  • Englishorichalcum
  • Frenchorichalque
  • Italianoricalco

In English words that came into English from orichalcum

  • orichalcumorichalcum
  • orichalceousorichalceus

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesOrichalcumOrichalcum (ὀρείχαλκος). During the first three centuries of the Roman Empire, and probably as early as the second century B.C., this word appears to …

Quick answers

What does orichalcum mean in Latin?
orichalcum, a noun, means “brass”.
What is the genitive of orichalcum?
The genitive singular is orichalcī. orichalcum is neuter, second declension.
How do you pronounce orichalcum?
In classical Latin, [ɔ.rɪˈkʰaɫ.kũː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [o.riˈkal.kum].