noun · femininesecond declension
taxus1
taxus f (genitive taxī)
Classical[ˈtak.sʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈtak.sus]
Meaning
- feminineA yew (tree).
Catuvolcus, rex dimidiae partis Eburonum, qui una cum Ambiorige consilium inierat, aetate iam confectus, cum laborem aut belli aut fugae ferre non posset, omnibus precibus detestatus Ambiorigem, qui eius consilii auctor fuisset, taxo, cuius magna in Gallia Germaniaque copia est, se exanimavit.
Cativolcus, king of one half of the Eburones, who had entered into the design together with Ambiorix, since, being now worn out by age, he was unable to endure the fatigue either of war or flight, having cursed Ambiorix with every imprecation, as the person who had been the contriver of that measure, destroyed himself with the juice of the yew-tree, of which there is a great abundance in Gaul and Germany.c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de bello Gallico 6.31 - femininepoeticA javelin made of the wood of the yew tree.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | taxus | taxī |
| genitive | taxī | taxōrum |
| dative | taxō | taxīs |
| accusative | taxum | taxōs |
| ablative | taxō | taxīs |
| vocative | taxe | taxī |
taxus, i, f.,
I. a yew, yew-tree.
I. Lit., Plin. 16, 10, 20, § 50; Caes. B. G. 6, 31; Verg. E. 9, 30; id. G. 2, 113 al. —
Considered, on account of its poisonous berries, as a tree of the infernal regions, Ov. M. 4, 432; Sil. 13, 596; Luc. 3, 419; 6, 645 al.—II. Poet., transf., a javelin, made of the wood of the yew-tree, Sil. 13, 210.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
taxus ī, f
a yew, yew-tree: taxo se examinavit, i. e. poisoned himself with yew-berries, Cs., V., O.
Origins
A loanword of Scythian origin, from Proto-Iranian *taxša, from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to flee, run”), as the fruit was considered poisonous. Also compare modern Persian تخش (taxš, “crossbow”).
Elsewhere
- Catalanteix
- Italiantasso
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- Aragonesetaixo
- Aragoneseteixo
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- Aragonesetaxo
- Asturiantexu
Old Galician-Portuguese
- Portugueseteixo
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