noun · masculinesecond declension
scāpus
scāpus m (genitive scāpī)
Meaning
- stem, stalk (of a plant)
- shaft (or similar upright column)
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | scāpus | scāpī |
| genitive | scāpī | scāpōrum |
| dative | scāpō | scāpīs |
| accusative | scāpum | scāpōs |
| ablative | scāpō | scāpīs |
| vocative | scāpe | scāpī |
scapus, i, m. root skap-; Gr. σκήπτω, to prop, σκῆπτρον; Doric, σκᾶπος; cf.: scipio, scamnum, scopus; Engl. shaft,
I. a shaft, stem, stalk, trunk, etc.
II. In partic.
A. A cylinder on which sheets of paper or leaves of papyrus were rolled, Plin. 13, 12, 23, § 77.—
B. A sheet of paper: aliquid papyri illinere scapo, Varr. ap. Non. 168, 14.—
C. A weaver's yarn-beam, Lucr. 5, 1353.—
D. The shaft of a column, Vitr. 3, 2 sq.—
E. The shank of a candlestick, Plin. 34, 3, 6, § 11.—
F. The post or newel of a circular staircase, Vitr. 9, 2 fin.—
G. The main stile of a door on which it hinged, Vitr. 4, 6.—
H. The beam of a balance, Vitr. 10, 8; Fest. s. v. agina, p. 10 Müll.; and s. v. librile, p. 116 ib.—
K. = membrum virile, Aug. Civ. Dei, 7, 24 fin.; Veg. 5, 14, 17.
Origins
Uncertain, though perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂p- (“rod, shaft, staff, club”). De Vaan suggests that the term could be a borrowing from Ancient Greek σκᾶπος (skâpos, “branch”) or it could more directly derive from the Proto-Indo-European root. Beekes suggests that Latin scāpus, Ancient Greek σκᾶπος (skâpos), and Albanian shkop may derive from an earlier Proto-Indo-European form *skeh₂p-o-, with Proto-Germanic *skaftaz (“shaft, pole”) as a zero-grade cognate and Ancient Greek σκήπτω (skḗptō, “to prop; to hurl, shoot”) a verbal cognate. See also Latin Scipiō and Proto-Slavic *kopьje (“spear, javelin”).
Descendants
- Englishscape
- Italianscapo
- Portugueseescapo