noun · femininefirst declension
puella
puella f (genitive puellae, masculine puellus)
Classical[puˈɛl.la]Ecclesiastical[puˈɛl.la]
№ 233 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- femininegirl, lass, maiden (female child)
parvola puella
a young girlpuellae et puerī
girls and boys - femininepoeticsweetheart, mistress, beloved maiden
cara mea puella
my beloved girlmea puella
my girlfriend - feminineyoung woman, young wife
- femininerarefemale slave
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
parva fēmina; puerī et puellae lūdunt.puella -ae f — in Mille Verba, ch. Vīta et Mors
parva fīliapuella -ae (f) — in Evangelium secundum Matthaeum, ch. 7
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Virgo · Puella · Virago
Virgo is an unmarried woman, whether young or old, in opp. to mulier, like παρθένος; whereas puella, a young woman, whether married or not; for instance, Nero’s wife, Octavia, twenty years old, in Tac. Ann. xiv. 64, like κόρη; virago, a masculine, strong, heroic, young woman; for instance, the Amazones, ἀντιάνειραι.
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | puella puellula | puellae puellulae |
| genitive | puellae puellulae | puellārum puellulārum |
| dative | puellae puellulae | puellīs puellulīs |
| accusative | puellam puellulam | puellās puellulās |
| ablative | puellā puellulā | puellīs puellulīs |
| vocative | puella puellula | puellae puellulae |
pŭella, ae (dat. and
I. abl. plur. puellabus, Cn. Gell. ap. Charis. p. 39 P.), f. puellus, a female child, a girl, maiden, lass.
I. Lit.
A. In gen.:
eam nunc puellam filiam ejus quaerimus, Plaut. Cist. 2, 3, 77: puellam parere, Ter. Heaut. 4, 1, 14: parvola puella, id. Eun. 1, 2, 29: puella infans, Hor. Ep. 2, 1, 99: pueri atque puellae, id. S. 1, 1, 85; 2, 3, 130; Cic. Att. 1, 5, 6: audi, Luna, puellas, Hor. C. S. 36: puellarum chorus, id. C 2, 5, 21: pueri innuptaeque puellae, Verg. A. 6, 307.—B. In partic.
1. A beloved maiden, a sweetheart, mistress (poet.):
vixi puellis nuper idoneus, Hor. C. 3, 26, 1: proditor puellae risus ab angulo, id. ib. 1, 9, 22: mendax, id. S. 1, 5, 82: cara, id. Ep. 1, 18, 74: blanda, Ov. Am. 2, 2, 34; Mart. 10, 109, 3 al.—Transf., in jest, of a kitten, Mart. 1, 109, 16.—*2. A daughter:
Danai puellae, Hor. C. 3, 11, 23.—II. Transf., in gen., a young female, young woman, young wife (poet. and in post-Aug. prose):
puellae Jam virum expertes, Hor. C. 3, 14, 10: laborantes utero puellae, id. ib. 3, 22, 2: viduae cessate puellae, Ov. F. 2, 557. So of Penelope, who was married, Ov. H. 1, 115; of Antiope, Prop. 3, 13 (4, 14), 21; 34; of Phædra, Ov. H. 4, 2; of Helen, id. A. A. 1, 54 al.; of the wife of a second husband, Stat. S. 1, 2, 163; of Servilia, wife of the exiled Pollio, Tac. A. 16, 30; of Octavia, wife of Nero, id. ib. 14, 64; cf. Gell. 12, 1, 4.— B. A female slave (very rare), Hor. C. 4, 11, 10.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
puella ae, f dim.
puer, a female child, girl, maiden, lass : puellam parere, T.: puella infans, H.: audi, Luna, puellas, H.: puellarum chorus, H.: proditor puellae risus, H.: Danai puellae, i. e. daughters , H.— A young female, young woman, young wife : puellae Iam virum expertae, H.: laborantes utero puellae, H.: viduae cessate puellae, O.
Origins
From puellus (“a little boy”), contracted from puerulus (“little boy, little slave”), the diminutive of puer (“boy”).
Descendants
- Englishpuella
- Englishpuella aeterna
- Englishpuella publica
- Englishpuellile
- Englishpuelline
- Old Frenchpolle
- Venetanputèła
In English words that came into English from puella
- puellinepuella
- puellilepuella