amuletum

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Watkins suggests a derivation from amylum (“starch”) as an original meaning of a medicine containing starch. Also compare amolior (“I remove from, I repel”), and ancient Greek ἀμύνω (to ward off)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /a.muˈleː.tum/, [ämʊˈɫ̪eːt̪ʊ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /a.muˈle.tum/, [ämuˈlɛːt̪um]

Noun

amulētum n (genitive amulētī); second declension

1. an amulet

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	amulētum	amulēta
genitive	amulētī	amulētōrum
dative	amulētō	amulētīs
accusative	amulētum	amulēta
ablative	amulētō	amulētīs
vocative	amulētum	amulēta

Descendants

• Catalan: amulet
• English: amulet
• German: Amulett
• Middle French: amulette
  • → English: amulet
  • French: amulette
    • → Dutch: amulet
      • Afrikaans: amulet
      • → Indonesian: amulet
• Portuguese: amuleto
• Russian: амуле́т (amulét)
• Spanish: amuleto

References

• “amuletum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• amuletum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “amuletum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• amuletum in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “amuletum”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• Watkins, Calvert, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000.