LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

phōca

phōca f (genitive phōcae)
Classical[ˈpʰoː.ka]Ecclesiastical[ˈfɔː.ka]

Meaning

  1. seal (marine animal)
    saepe vēnātī phōcae ad escam.They often hunted seals for meat.
    nunc ibi dēfōrmēs pōnunt sua corpora phōcaeNow ugly seals place their bodies there8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 1.300

In the readers how our graded readers gloss it

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativephōcaphōcae
genitivephōcaephōcārum
dativephōcaephōcīs
accusativephōcamphōcās
ablativephōcāphōcīs
vocativephōcaphōcae

phōcă, ae, and phōcē, ēs, f., = φώκη,
I. a seal, sea-dog, sea-calf (pure Lat. vitula marina), Verg. G. 4, 432: deformes phocae, Ov. M. 1, 300; so id. ib. 2, 267; Plin. 9, 7, 6, § 19. Proteus had a span of seadogs: Protea huc rexisse vias junctis super aequora phocis, Val. Fl. 2, 319. A grandson of Cephisus is fabled to have been changed by Apollo into this animal, Ov. M. 7, 388.

Origins

Ancient Greek φώκη (phṓkē)bor. Latin phōca Borrowed from Ancient Greek φώκη (phṓkē).

Descendants
  • Catalanfoca
  • Englishphoca
  • Frenchphoquefrom Middle French phoque
  • Romanianfocăfrom Middle French phoque
  • Italianfoca
  • Portuguesefoca
  • Spanishfoca
  • Spanishphoca
  • Arabicفُقْمَة
  • Polishfokafrom Middle French phoque

Quick answers

What does phōca mean in Latin?
phōca, a noun, means “seal (marine animal)”.
What is the genitive of phōca?
The genitive singular is phōcae. phōca is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce phōca?
In classical Latin, [ˈpʰoː.ka]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈfɔː.ka].