dentifrangibulum

Latin

FWOTD – 25 April 2024

Etymology

Coined by Plautus, from dēns (“tooth”) +‎ frangō (“break”) +‎ -bulum (suffix forming instrument nouns).

Pronunciation

Noun

dentifrangibulum n (genitive dentifrangibulī); second declension

  1. (hapax legomenon, humorous) fist
    • c. 190 BCE, Plautus, Bacchides 594–596:
      Pist. At scīn quam īrācundus siem? Nē tibi hercle haud longē est os ab īnfortūniō, ita dentifrangibula haec meīs manibus gestiunt.
      Pist. Do you know how short-tempered I am? Your mouth, by Hercules, is hardly far away from a mishap, so much are these fists stirring in my hands.

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

singular plural
nominative dentifrangibulum dentifrangibula
genitive dentifrangibulī dentifrangibulōrum
dative dentifrangibulō dentifrangibulīs
accusative dentifrangibulum dentifrangibula
ablative dentifrangibulō dentifrangibulīs
vocative dentifrangibulum dentifrangibula

Noun

dentifrangibulum

  1. accusative singular of dentifrangibulus

References

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