LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinesecond declension

vitulus

vitulus m (genitive vitulī)
Classical[ˈwɪ.tʊ.ɫʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈviː.tu.lus]

Meaning

  1. masculinea bull calf
  2. abbreviationellipsismasculineellipsis of vitulus marīnus (“seal”)

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativevitulusvitulī
genitivevitulīvitulōrum
dativevitulōvitulīs
accusativevitulumvitulōs
ablativevitulōvitulīs
vocativevitulevitulī

vĭtŭlus, i, m., and vitŭla, ae, f. Gr. ἰταλός, bull; whence Italia; Sanscr. vatsas, calf,
I. a calf.
I. Lit.
(a). Masc., a bullcalf, Varr. R. R. 2, 5, 6; Cic. Div. 2, 15, 36; Quint. 1, 9, 5; Ov. M. 2, 624; 4, 755; 10, 227; Mart. 3, 58, 11; Verg. G. 4, 299 al.—
(b). Fem., a cow-calf, Verg. E. 3, 29 and 77.—
II. Transf.
A. In gen., a calf, foal; of the horse, Verg. G. 3, 164; of the elephant, Plin. 8, 1, 1, § 2; of the whale, id. 9, 6, 5, § 13.—
B. In partic.: vitulus marinus, a sea-calf, seal, Juv. 3, 238; Suet. Aug. 90.—Called also simply vitulus, Plin. 2, 55, 56, § 146.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *wetelos, from Proto-Indo-European *wet- (“year”), same source as Ancient Greek ἔταλον (étalon), Albanian viç, Albanian vit, English wether, Scots weddir, woddir, wadder (“wether”), Dutch weder, weer (“wether”), German Widder (“wether, ram”), Swedish vädur (“wether, ram”), Icelandic veður (“wether, ram”). See also Ancient Greek Ῑ̓ταλός (Ītalós).

Borrowings
  • Portuguesevítulo
  • ItalianVitolofrom Sicilian Vìtulu
  • Spanishvítulo
Elsewhere
  • Italianvecchiofrom Vulgar Latin *vitlus
  • Romanianvătuifrom Vulgar Latin *vituleus
  • Aromanianvituljfrom Vulgar Latin *vituleus
  • Aromanianvituljiufrom Vulgar Latin *vituleus

Quick answers

What does vitulus mean in Latin?
vitulus, a noun, means “a bull calf; ellipsis of vitulus marīnus (“seal”)”.
What is the genitive of vitulus?
The genitive singular is vitulī. vitulus is masculine, second declension.
How do you pronounce vitulus?
In classical Latin, [ˈwɪ.tʊ.ɫʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈviː.tu.lus].