claustrum

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin claustrum (“a bolt, bar”). Doublet of cloister.

Pronunciation

Noun

claustrum (plural claustra)

  1. (neuroanatomy) A thin, irregular sheet of grey matter underneath the inner part of the neocortex on both sides of the brains of mammals; its exact function is not understood, but it is believed to facilitate coordination between senses[1]
    • For quotations using this term, see Citations:claustrum.

Translations

References

  1. ^ 1858, Henry Gray, Gray's Anatomy

Latin

Etymology

Consists of claud- (“to close, enclose”) +‎ -trum. From Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂ud- (“key, hook, nail”) + *-trom (“instrumental suffix”), related to Latin clāvis (“key”), clāvus (“nail, peg”), claustra (“dam, wall, barricade, stronghold”). Cognate with Ancient Greek κλείς (kleís, “bar, bolt, key”), Old High German sliozan (“to close, conclude, lock”), Old Saxon slūtan (“to close, conclude, lock”).

Pronunciation

Noun

claustrum n (genitive claustrī); second declension

  1. (rare, usually in the plural) a bar, band, bolt
  2. gate, door, bulwark
  3. enclosure (confined space)
  4. cloister (especially in plural)
  5. (Medieval Latin) portion of monastery closed off to laity
  6. (New Latin) claustrum (thin lamina of grey matter in each cerebral hemisphere of the human brain)

Usage notes

  • Singular forms are almost never encountered; this noun is usually plural.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

singular plural
nominative claustrum claustra
genitive claustrī claustrōrum
dative claustrō claustrīs
accusative claustrum claustra
ablative claustrō claustrīs
vocative claustrum claustra

Descendants

See also

References

  • “claustrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “claustrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • "claustrum", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • claustrum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) to break down the gates: claustra portarum revellere
  • “claustrum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • claustrum in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎[2], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
  • “claustrum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
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