LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

scāla

scāla f (genitive scālae)
Classical[ˈskaː.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[ˈskaː.la]

Meaning

  1. ladder
  2. pluralplural onlystairs (flight of steps)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativescālascālae
genitivescālaescālārum
dativescālaescālīs
accusativescālamscālās
ablativescālāscālīs
vocativescālascālae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

scalas admovere (B. C. 3. 63)
to apply scaling-ladders.
positis scalis muros ascendere
to scale the walls by means of ladders.

scāla, ae (acc. to the ancient grammarians, not used in sing.; cf. Varr. L. L. 9, §§ 63 and 68; 10, § 54 Müll.; Quint. 1, 5, 16 Spald.; Charis. p. 20 P. p. 72 ib.; Diom. p. 315 ib. al.; but
I. v. infra), f. for scandla, from scando; cf. mala, from mando, mostly plur.: scālae, ārum, a flight of steps or stairs, a staircase; a ladder, scaling-ladder.
I. Plur.
A. Lit.: scalas dare alicui utendas, Plaut. Rud. 3, 1, 10: scalarum gradus, the rounds of a ladder, Caecin. ap. Cic. Fam. 6, 7, 3: Romani scalis summă nituntur opum vi, Enn. ap. Macr. S. 6, 1 (Ann. v. 168 Vahl.); Caes. B. G. 5, 43: scalas ponere, to fix, id. B. C. 1, 28; 3, 40: scalas admovere, id. ib. 3, 63; 3, 80; Cic. Mil. 15, 40; id. Phil. 2, 9, 121: murum scalis aggredi, Sall. J. 57, 4; 60, 7; Verg. A. 9, 507; Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 15 et saep.: scalis habito tribus et altis, up three flights of stairs, Mart. 1, 118, 7.—
2. In partic.: Scalae Gemoniae, v. Gemoniae.—*
B. Poet., transf., steps: haec per ducentas cum domum tulit scalas, Mart. 7, 20, 20.—
II. Sing. (post-class.).
A. In gen., a ladder: scalam commodare ad ascendendum, Dig. 47, 2, 55 (54), § 4; cf. Aquil. Rom. p. 181 Ruhnk.—
B. Esp.
1. Scala gallinaria, a hen-roost, i. e. a crossbar of like form, used for reducing a dislocated shoulder, Cels. 8, 15 med.—
2. Of Jacob's ladder, seen in his dream, Vulg. Gen. 28, 12; Hier. Ep. 3, § 4; 108, § 13.

Origins

From *skand-slā, from Proto-Indo-European *skend-. The linguist Hrach Martirosyan connects the term with Old Armenian սանդուղք (sandułkʻ), for which he posits an Armeno-Italic isogloss *(s)kn̥d-sleh₂.

Elsewhere
  • Portugueseescadafrom Vulgar Latin *scālata
  • Englishscala
  • Englishscalefrom Middle English scale
  • Portugueseescala
  • Galicianescadafrom Vulgar Latin *scālata
  • Albanianshkallë
  • Greekσκάλαfrom Ancient Greek σκάλα
  • Mariupol Greekска́лаfrom Ancient Greek σκάλα
  • Pontic Greekσκάλαfrom Ancient Greek σκάλα
  • Bulgarianскала́from Ancient Greek σκάλα
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianiscala
  • Sardinianissala
  • Sardinianscaba
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanescala
  • Occitanescala
  • Franco-Provençalèchiéla
  • Old Frencheschele
  • Old Frencheschale
  • Old Frencheskele
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianscară
  • Aromanianscarã
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianscala
  • Sicilianscala
  • Venetanscała
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishescala
  • Ladinoeskala
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianscjale
  • Friuliansčhale
  • Romanshstgala
  • Romanshscala
  • Romanshstgeala
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianschèla
  • Piedmontesescala

In English words that came into English from scāla

  • scalescāla
  • scalarscālāris
  • echelonscāla
  • scalascāla
  • scalariformscāla

Quick answers

What does scāla mean in Latin?
scāla, a noun, means “ladder; stairs (flight of steps)”.
What is the genitive of scāla?
The genitive singular is scālae. scāla is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce scāla?
In classical Latin, [ˈskaː.ɫa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈskaː.la].
Which English words come from scāla?
English words that go back to Latin scāla include scale, echelon, scala, scalariform and scalar.