culeus

English

Etymology

From Latin culeus (“large leather sack, punishment of drowning within a sack, unit of bulk liquid measure”), from Ancient Greek κολεός (koleós, “sheath”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”). Doublet of cullion and cojones.

Noun

culeus (plural culeuses or culei)

1. (historical) A Roman unit of liquid measure reckoned as the volume of 1600 Roman pounds of wine and equivalent to about 520 L although differing slightly over time.
2. (historical, law) A Roman punishment—chiefly for parricide—involving blindfolding, beating, confinement to a leather sack, and drowning in a river or sea.

Coordinate terms

• (unit of liquid volume): lingula (1/46,080 culeus), cyathus (1/11,520 culeus), acetabulum (1/7680 culeus), quartarius (1/3840 culeus), hemina (1/1920 culeus), sextarius (1/960 culeus), congius (1/160 culeus), urna (1/40 culeus), amphora (1/20 culeus)

Latin

Alternative forms

• culleus

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κολεός (koleós, “sheath”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- (“to cover”).

Noun

cūleus m (genitive cūleī); second declension

1. sack, bag, especially a large leather sack used for bulk transport
2. (historical, law) culeus, the sack, a punishment for parricides involving confinement to a sack and drowning
3. (historical) culeus, Roman sack, a Roman unit of liquid measure equivalent to about 520 L, chiefly used for vinyard production and wine trading

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cūleus	cūleī
genitive	cūleī	cūleōrum
dative	cūleō	cūleīs
accusative	cūleum	cūleōs
ablative	cūleō	cūleīs
vocative	cūlee	cūleī

Coordinate terms

• (unit of volume): lingula (1/46,080 culeus), cyathus (1/11,520 culeus), acetabulum (1/7680 culeus), quartarius (1/3840 culeus), hemina (1/1920 culeus), sextarius (1/960 culeus), congius (1/160 culeus), urna (1/40 culeus), amphora (1/20 culeus)

Derived terms

• cōleus

References

• “culeus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “culeus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• culeus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.