LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

scintilla

scintilla f (genitive scintillae)
Classical[skɪnˈtɪl.la]Ecclesiastical[ʃinˈtil.la]

Meaning

  1. femininespark
    1st century AD, Quintus Curtius Rufus, Historiarum Alexandri Magni Macedonis Libri Qui Supersunt; Book VI, Chapter III Parva saepe scintilla contempta magnum excitavit incendium.A small spark neglected has often roused to a great inferno.
  2. feminineglimmer

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativescintillascintillae
genitivescintillaescintillārum
dativescintillaescintillīs
accusativescintillamscintillās
ablativescintillāscintillīs
vocativescintillascintillae

scintilla, ae, f. dim. kindr. with σπινθήρ,
I. a spark (class.).
I. Lit.; sing.: videmus Accedere ex unā scintillā incendia passim, Lucr. 5, 609; 4, 606; Verg. A. 1, 174; Ov. M. 7, 80; Liv. 38, 7 al.: parva saepe scintilla contempta excitavit incendium, Curt. 6, 3, 11.—Plur., Lucr. 2, 675; 6, 163; Verg. A. 12, 102; Quint. 8, 5, 29 al.—
B. Transf., a bright, sparkling point: nullis ut in auro lucentibus scintillis, Plin. 33, 6, 31, § 95.—
II. Trop., a spark, glimmer, faint trace: scintilla ingenii, Cic. Rep. 2, 21, 31: belli, id. Fam. 10, 14, 2: isti tantis offusis tenebris ne scintillam quidem ullam nobis ad dispiciendum reliquerunt, id. Ac. 2, 19, 61: ne scintillam quidem relinques, genus qui congliscat tuom, Plaut. Trin. 3, 2, 52.

Origins

Most likely from Proto-Indo-European *ski-nto-, from *(s)ḱeh₁y- (“to gleam, shine”), which is the source of English shine.

Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishcentella
  • Portuguesecentelhafrom Spanish centella
  • Spanishcentalla
  • Asturiancentella
  • Old Galician-Portuguesecentella
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianschinchidha
  • Sardinianscincidha
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianscintilla
  • Venetansintiła
  • Venetans-ciantixo
  • Venetansciantixo
  • Venetansciantizha
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalancentella
Vulgar Latin
  • Romanianscânteiefrom unknown *scintilia
  • Aromanianscãntealjifrom unknown *scintilia
  • Albanianshkëndijëfrom unknown *scintilia
  • Old Frenchestencelefrom unknown *stincilla
Borrowings
  • Englishscintilla

Quick answers

What does scintilla mean in Latin?
scintilla, a noun, means “spark; glimmer”.
What is the genitive of scintilla?
The genitive singular is scintillae. scintilla is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce scintilla?
In classical Latin, [skɪnˈtɪl.la]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ʃinˈtil.la].