LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

unguiculus

unguiculus m (genitive unguiculī)
Classical[ʊŋˈɡʷɪ.kʊ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[uŋˈɡʷiː.ku.lus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea fingernail
    Hic est danista, haec illa est autem, quam emi de praeda. ― Haecinest? ― Haec est. Estne ita ut tibi dixi? Aspecta et contempla, Epidice:c. 190 BCE, Plautus, Epidicus 5.1.15–17
    Unguiculi nos et ne totius quidem dolor sed aliqua ab latere eius scissura conficit!c. 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Naturales quaestiones 6.2.5

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeunguiculusunguiculī
genitiveunguiculīunguiculōrum
dativeunguiculōunguiculīs
accusativeunguiculumunguiculōs
ablativeunguiculōunguiculīs
vocativeunguiculeunguiculī

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

a teneris unguiculis (ἐξ ἁπαλων ὀνύχων) (Fam. 1. 6. 2)
from one's cradle, from one's earliest childhood.

unguĭcŭlus, i, m. dim. unguis,
I. a finger-nail: integritas unguiculorum omnium, Cic. Fin. 5, 27, 80; Plaut. Ep. 5, 1, 17; Sen. Q. N. 6, 2, 5.—Prov.: a teneris unguiculis, a transl. of the Gr. ἐξ ἁπαλῶν ὀνύχων, from early infancy, from childhood, Cic. Fam. 1, 6, 2 (for which: de tenero ungui, Hor. C. 3, 6, 24): ex unguiculis (= ἐξ ὀνύχων), from the very finger-tips, i. e. through and through, Plaut. Stich. 5, 5, 20; App. M. 10, p. 249, 11.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin unguiculus From unguis + -culus (forming diminutives).

Descendants
  • unknownunguiculātus

In English words that came into English from unguiculus

  • unguicularunguiculus
  • unguiculateunguiculātus
  • unguiculusunguiculus

Quick answers

What does unguiculus mean in Latin?
unguiculus, a noun, means “a fingernail”.
What is the genitive of unguiculus?
The genitive singular is unguiculī. unguiculus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce unguiculus?
In classical Latin, [ʊŋˈɡʷɪ.kʊ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [uŋˈɡʷiː.ku.lus].
Which English words come from unguiculus?
English words that go back to Latin unguiculus include unguicular, unguiculus and unguiculate.