cymba

Latin

Alternative forms

• cumba

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek κύμβη (kúmbē, “a boat”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkym.ba/, [ˈkʏmbä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃim.ba/, [ˈt͡ʃimbä]

Noun

cymba f (genitive cymbae); first declension

1. A boat, skiff, Pliny ascribes its invention to the Phoenicians; especially the small boat used by Charon to ferry the dead.
2. A theme.

   non est ingenii cymba gravanda tui ― meddle not with themes above your powers

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	cymba	cymbae
genitive	cymbae	cymbārum
dative	cymbae	cymbīs
accusative	cymbam	cymbās
ablative	cymbā	cymbīs
vocative	cymba	cymbae

Derived terms

• cymba conchae
• cymbium

Descendants

• Portuguese: comba

References

• “cymba”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “cymba”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• cymba in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “cymba”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “cymba”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin