noun · masculinethird declension
termes1
termes m (genitive termitis)
Classical[ˈtɛr.mɛs]Ecclesiastical[ˈtɛr.mes]
Meaning
- masculinea branch or bough of a tree, especially one severed thence
germinat et numquam fallentis termes olivae / suamque pulla ficus ornat arborem,
Where the shoots of the olive-trees bud, and are never failing, the dark fig graces the branch of its tree,c. 30 BCE, Horatius, Epodi 16.45Quem colorem nos, sicuti dixi, poeniceum dicimus, Graeci partim φοίνικα, alii σπάδικα appellant, quoniam palmae termes ex arbore cum fructu avulsus “spadix” dicitur. This colour, as I have said, we call poeniceus; the Greeks sometimes name it φοῖνιξ, at others σπάδιξ, since the branch of the palm (φοῖνιξ), torn from the tree with its fruit, is called spadix. ― translation from the same source
ibidem, book III, chapter ix, § 9
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | termes | termitēs |
| genitive | termitis | termitum |
| dative | termitī | termitibus |
| accusative | termitem | termitēs |
| ablative | termite | termitibus |
| vocative | termes | termitēs |
termĕs, ĭtis, m. tero,
I. a bough cut off from the olive-tree, Hor. Epod. 16, 45;
of the palm-tree, Gell. 3, 9, 9: inculto termite, Grat. Cyn. 20; cf.: termes ramus desectus ex arbore nec foliis repletus, ac nimis glaber, Fest. p. 367 Müll.termes, v. tarmes.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
termes itis, m
1 TER-, a bough cut off, branch : olivae, H.
Origins
Traditionally derived from terō (“to rub away”), but unknown. Alternatively connected either with tener (“tender, young”) and Sabine terenum (“soft”), from Proto-Indo-European *ter- (“tender, soft, weak, young, small”), particularly if the original meaning was “weak branch” or “young shoot”, or according to Calvert Watkins with termen (“end”), if the original meaning was “end, tip” (compare the cognate Proto-Germanic *þrumą (“butt, end, stump”)), from Proto-Indo-European *térmn̥. Michiel de Vaan lists the word as without etymology. The odd suffix and semantic category may be indicative of substrate origin.