Lūca (“Lucanian”) + bōs (“cow”), to mean elephant because the Romans first saw elephants in Heraclea, a city in Lucania, as part of Pyrrhus of Epirus's army.
Lūca bōs f (irregular, variously declined, genitive Lūcae bovis); first declension, third declension
First-declension noun with a third-declension noun (irregular).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Lūca bōs | Lūcae bovēs |
| Genitive | Lūcae bovis | Lūcārum boum |
| Dative | Lūcae bovī | Lūcīs bōbus Lūcīs būbus |
| Accusative | Lūcam bovem | Lūcās bovēs |
| Ablative | Lūcā bove | Lūcīs bōbus Lūcīs būbus |
| Vocative | Lūca bōs | Lūcae bovēs |