pulcher
Latin
Alternative forms
Etymology
Uncertain. The earlier form polcer is traditionally derived from Proto-Italic *porkros, from Proto-Indo-European *pr̥ḱ-ró-s or Proto-Indo-European *perḱ-ro-, from the root *perḱ- (“motley, variegated”), with dissimilation of the first *-r- into *-l-,[1][2] though this has been challenged.[3] Connection with poliō (“to polish, smooth”) or polleō (“to be strong”) is to be excluded.[2] The aspiration is often considered secondary when the word would have been made to derive from Ancient Greek πολύχροος (polúkhroos, “multicolor”) by folk etymology,[n 1][5][4] while an Etruscan borrowing is usually discarded.[5][2]
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈpul.kʰer/, [ˈpʊɫ̪kʰɛr]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈpul.ker/, [ˈpulker]
Adjective
pulcher (feminine pulchra, neuter pulchrum, comparative pulchrior, superlative pulcherrimus, adverb pulchrē); first/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er)
- beautiful, fair, pretty
- (figuratively) noble, honorable, excellent
- Synonyms: nōbilis, honōrābilis, excellēns
Declension
First/second-declension adjective (nominative masculine singular in -er).
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | pulcher | pulchra | pulchrum | pulchrī | pulchrae | pulchra | |
Genitive | pulchrī | pulchrae | pulchrī | pulchrōrum | pulchrārum | pulchrōrum | |
Dative | pulchrō | pulchrō | pulchrīs | ||||
Accusative | pulchrum | pulchram | pulchrum | pulchrōs | pulchrās | pulchra | |
Ablative | pulchrō | pulchrā | pulchrō | pulchrīs | |||
Vocative | pulcher | pulchra | pulchrum | pulchrī | pulchrae | pulchra |
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Catalan: pulcre
- French: poucre (dialectal)
- → Italian: pulcro
- → Portuguese: pulcro
- → Spanish: pulcro
Notes
References
- ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “perk̂-, prek̂-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 820–821
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Walde, Alois, Hofmann, Johann Baptist (1954) “pulcher”, in Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), 3rd edition, volume II, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, page 384
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “pulcher”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 496
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 142
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “pulcher”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots[1] (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 543
Further reading
- “pulcher”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “pulcher”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- pulcher in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “pulcher”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- “pulcher”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
- Latin terms with unknown etymologies
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Italic
- Latin terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latin terms borrowed from Etruscan
- Latin terms derived from Etruscan
- Latin 2-syllable words
- Latin terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latin lemmas
- Latin adjectives
- Latin first and second declension adjectives with nominative masculine singular in -er
- Latin first and second declension adjectives
- la:Appearance