LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

rānunculus

rānunculus m (genitive rānunculī)
Classical[raːˈnʊŋ.kʊ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[raˈnuŋ.ku.lus]

Meaning

  1. a little frog, polliwog, tadpole
  2. buttercup, crowfoot (Ranunculus)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativerānunculusrānunculī
genitiverānunculīrānunculōrum
dativerānunculōrānunculīs
accusativerānunculumrānunculōs
ablativerānunculōrānunculīs
vocativerānunculerānunculī

rānuncŭlus, i, m. dim. rana.
I. Lit., a little frog, a tadpole, porwigle, Cic. Div. 1, 9, 15.—
II. Transf., jocosely, of the inhabitants of Ulubrae (as residing in the neighborhood of marshes), Cic. Fam. 7, 18, 3.—
III. A medicinal plant, called also batrachion, perh. crowfoot, ranunculus, Plin. 25, 13, 109, § 172; Tert. Spect. 27.

Origins

From rāna (“frog”) + -unculus (diminutive suffix). An irregularly formed diminutive in several ways: the ending -unculus was rarely used as a suffix, more often appearing when the diminutive suffix -culus is added to a stem ending in /n/, and the gender of a Latin diminutive usually is the same as that of the base word, but in this case changes from feminine to masculine. See also rānula, another diminutive from rāna. Compare typologically Ancient Greek βατράχιον (batrákhion) (diminutive of βάτραχος (bátrakhos)).

Elsewhere
  • Catalanranuncle
  • Englishranunculus
  • Frenchrenoncule
  • GermanRanunkel
  • Italianranoncolo
  • Italianranuncolo
  • Italianrannuncolo
  • Portugueseranúnculo
  • Spanishranúnculo
  • Aragoneseranunclo
Italo-Romance
  • Italianranocchio
  • Italianranonchio
  • Italianranonchia
  • Italianrannugolo
  • Italianrannuvolo
  • Neapolitanranonchia
  • Neapolitanranogna
  • Sicilianranuncu
  • Sicilianranunchiu
  • Sicilianranunchia

Quick answers

What does rānunculus mean in Latin?
rānunculus, a noun, means “a little frog, polliwog, tadpole; buttercup, crowfoot (Ranunculus)”.
What is the genitive of rānunculus?
The genitive singular is rānunculī. rānunculus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce rānunculus?
In classical Latin, [raːˈnʊŋ.kʊ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [raˈnuŋ.ku.lus].