ichneumon
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English
Etymology
From Latin ichneumōn, from Ancient Greek ἰχνεύμων (ikhneúmōn, “tracker”), from ἴχνος (íkhnos, “track, footstep”).
Pronunciation
Noun
ichneumon (plural ichneumons)
- An Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), found in Africa and southern Europe.
- Synonym: nems
- 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 12, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes , book II, London: Val Simmes for Edward Blount , →OCLC:
- when the Ichneumon is to grapple with the Crocodile, he walloweth his body in the mire, then lets the same drie and harden upon him […].
- An ichneumon wasp.
- 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 43:
- Ada's unique Lorelei Underwing had died, paralyzed by some ichneumon that had not been deceived by those clever prominences and fungoid smudges.
- (mythology) a legendary animal, which kills crocodiles and dragons
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Herpestes ichneumon
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French
Pronunciation
Noun
ichneumon m (plural ichneumons)
Further reading
- “ichneumon”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἰχνεύμων (ikhneúmōn, “tracker”), from ἴχνος (íkhnos, “track, footstep”).
Pronunciation
Noun
ichneumōn m (genitive ichneumonis); third declension
- Egyptian mongoose, Herpestes ichneumon
- ...deinde internecivum bellum cum ichneumone.
...and in the next place she has given it war to the death with the ichneumon.- Pliny the Elder, Natural History, VIII.35
- ...deinde internecivum bellum cum ichneumone.
- ichneumon wasp, ichneumon fly
- ...mustela et cornix, turtur et pyrallis, ichneumones vespae et phalangia aranei...
...the weasel and the crow, the turtle-dove and the pyrallis, ichneumon-flies and spiders...- Pliny the Elder, Natural History, X.95
- ...mustela et cornix, turtur et pyrallis, ichneumones vespae et phalangia aranei...
- (mythology) a legendary animal, which kills crocodiles
Declension
Third-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | ichneumōn | ichneumonēs |
| Genitive | ichneumonis | ichneumonum |
| Dative | ichneumonī | ichneumonibus |
| Accusative | ichneumonem | ichneumonēs |
| Ablative | ichneumone | ichneumonibus |
| Vocative | ichneumōn | ichneumonēs |
References
- “ichneumon”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ichneumon in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.