adjectivethird-declension two-termination adjective
sēmivōcālis1
sēmivōcālis (neuter sēmivōcāle, adverb sēmivōcāliter)
Classical[seː.mɪ.woːˈkaː.lɪs]Ecclesiastical[se.mi.voˈkaː.lis]
Meaning
- two terminationsemivocal
Declension
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcāle |
| genitive | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcālis |
| dative | sēmivōcālī | sēmivōcālī | sēmivōcālī |
| accusative | sēmivōcālem | sēmivōcālem | sēmivōcāle |
| ablative | sēmivōcālī | sēmivōcālī | sēmivōcālī |
| vocative | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcālis | sēmivōcāle |
| form | masculine | feminine | neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālia |
| genitive | sēmivōcālium | sēmivōcālium | sēmivōcālium |
| dative | sēmivōcālibus | sēmivōcālibus | sēmivōcālibus |
| accusative | sēmivōcālīs sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālīs sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālia |
| ablative | sēmivōcālibus | sēmivōcālibus | sēmivōcālibus |
| vocative | sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālēs | sēmivōcālia |
sēmĭ-vŏcālĭs, e, adj.
I. Half-sounding, half-talking, semi-vocal: instrumentum rusticum, i. e. cattle (distinguished from vocale, slaves, and mutum, i. e. carts), Varr. R. R. 1, 17, 1.—In like manner: signum militare, i. e. horns, trumpets, etc. (distinguished from vocale, words, and mutum, banners), Veg. Mil. 3, 5.—
II. In gram., as subst., a semi - vowel (of which there were, acc. to the old grammarians, the foll. seven:
f, l, m, n, r, s, x), Quint. 1, 4, 6; 1, 7, 14; Prisc. p. 540 sq. P.; 564 ib. al.Origins
From sēmi- + vōcālis. Calque of Ancient Greek ἡμῐ́φωνος (hēmĭ́phōnos). The substantivized noun is an ellipsis of littera sēmivōcālis f (“semivocal letter”).