noun · neutersecond declension
serum
serum n (genitive serī)
Classical[ˈsɛ.rũː]Ecclesiastical[ˈsɛː.rum]
Meaning
- neuterwhey
Nec tibi cūra canum fuerit postrēma, sed ūnā vēlōcis Spartae catulōs ācremque Molossum
Nor let the concern for your dogs be the last, but in the same way the brave Molossan and the whelps of the swift Spartan feed with fat whey.c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 3.404–406Būbulī serum orthopnoicīs prōdest ante cētera additō nāsturtiō.
Whey of cows is more beneficial to asthmatics than others when cress is added to it.77 CE – 79 CE, Plinius Maior, Naturalis Historia 28.130 - broadlyneutersome other watery liquid
Quid dīcam, Gellī, quārē rosea ista labella hībernā fīant candidiōra nive, māne domō cum exīs et cum tē octāva quiēte ē mollī longō suscitat hōra diē? Nesciŏquid certest: an vērē fāma susurrat grandia tē mediī tenta vorāre virī? Sīc certest: clāmant Victōris rupta miselli īlia, et ēmulsō barba notāta serō. What shall I say, Gellius, how these rosy lips
when you walk out of the house when the eighth hour rouses you from soft rest in the long day? Something's sure: perhaps your reputation whispers truthfully that you devour the large protuberance of a man's middle? So is it certain: thus the broken loins of the poor Victor cry, and the beard marked with the milked-out semen.c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 80
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | serum | sera serua |
| genitive | serī serūs | serōrum seruum |
| dative | serō seruī | serīs seribus |
| accusative | serum | sera serua |
| ablative | serō | serīs seribus |
| vocative | serum | sera serua |
sĕrum, i, n. (collat. form sĕrū, acc. to Charis. p. 23 P.) [prob. sibilated from ὀρός].
I. The watery part of curdled milk, whey, Plin. 11, 41, 96, § 239; 28, 9, 33, § 126; Col. 7, 12, 10; Verg. G. 3, 406; Tib. 2, 3, 16; Ov. F. 4, 770.—
II. Transf., like ὀρός, of the watery parts, serum, of other things;
of resin, Plin. 16, 12, 23, § 60: seminis genitalis, Cat. 80, 8.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
serum ī, n
1 SAL-, the watery part of curdled milk, whey , V., O.
sērum adv.
neut. of serus, late at night : Quae Nocte sedens serum canit, V.
Origins
From Proto-Italic *serom (“liquid”), from Proto-Indo-European *sér-o- (“flowing, liquid”), from *ser- (“to flow, run”); cognate with Sanskrit सर (sará, “flowing”), सार (sā́ra, “curd, cream”), सारण (sāraṇa, “flowing, buttermilk”), and Ancient Greek ὀρός (orós, “whey, curd, semen”).
Descendants
- Catalansèrum
- Englishserum
- Frenchsérum
- GermanSerum
- Italiansiero
- Portuguesesoro
- Romanianzer
- Spanishsero-
- Spanishsuero
- Aromaniandzãr