dracunculus

See also: Dracunculus

English

A dracunculus fish, Synchiropus splendidus

dracunculus (Dracunculus medinesis) larvae

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dracunculus, diminutive of draco (“dragon”).

Noun

dracunculus (plural dracunculi)

1. A dragonet, a fish of families Calliomyidae or Draconettidae.
2. A Guinea worm (Filaria medinensis, now Dracunculus medinensis).

Further reading

• Dragonet on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Filarioidea on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Callionymidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
• Dracunculus medinensis on Wikispecies.Wikispecies

Latin

Etymology

From dracō, dracōnis (“dragon”) +‎ -culus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /draˈkun.ku.lus/, [d̪räˈkʊŋkʊɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /draˈkun.ku.lus/, [d̪räˈkuŋkulus]

Noun

dracunculus m (genitive dracunculī); second declension

1. diminutive of dracō: a small dragon or serpent
2. a thread twisted like a serpent
3. a sort of fish, dragonet
4. tarragon

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	dracunculus	dracunculī
genitive	dracunculī	dracunculōrum
dative	dracunculō	dracunculīs
accusative	dracunculum	dracunculōs
ablative	dracunculō	dracunculīs
vocative	dracuncule	dracunculī

References

• “dracunculus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• dracunculus 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)
• dracunculus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.