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tenellulus. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
tenellulus, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
tenellulus in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Latin
Etymology
From tenellus + -ulus (diminutive suffix).
Pronunciation
Adjective
tenellulus (feminine tenellula, neuter tenellulum); first/second-declension adjective
- diminutive of tenus (“tender, delicate”)
c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE,
Catullus,
Carmina 17.15:
- Cui cum sit viridissimō nūpta flōre puella
et puella tenellulō dēlicātior haedō,
adservanda nigerrimīs dīligentius ūvīs,
lūdere hanc sinit ut lubet, nec pilī facit ūnī,
nec sē sublevat ex suā parte, sed velut alnus
in fossā Ligurī jacet suppernāta secūrī,
tantundem omnia sentiēns quam si nūlla sit usquam;
tālis iste meus stupor nīl videt, nihil audit,
ipse quī sit, utrum sit an nōn sit, id quoque nescit.
Usage notes
Lewis and Short gives the translation "somewhat tender or delicate", which is based on the theory that diminutive adjectives expressed a weakened sense of the base adjective. However, this theory seems to fit poorly with many cases of diminutive adjective use. It seems more likely that in this case, the diminutive had an affectionate force, or emphasized smallness alongside tenderness, thus being better translated as "tender little".[1]
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
References
- ^ Samuel Ball Platner (1895) “Diminutives in Catullus”, in The American Journal of Philology, volume 16, number 2, page 190: “Tenellulus must mean 'very delicate or tender', if it means anything besides 'tender.' Undoubtedly it does mean 'very tender' here, to enhance the force of the compliment.”
Further reading
- “tenellulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “tenellulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- tenellulus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.