glaesum

Latin

Alternative forms

• glēsum

Etymology

Borrowed from Proto-Germanic *glasą, possibly related root *glōaną (“to shine”) (compare glow), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰel- (“to shine, shimmer, glow”).

An ancient theory by Tacitus claims this word to be a Latinization of what the Aestii, likely a Baltic people, call amber; compare Lithuanian giñtaras (“amber”).

Noun

glaesum n (genitive glaesī); second declension

1. amber (fossil resin)

   Synonyms: electrum, sucinum

Declension

Second-declension noun (neuter).

	singular	plural
nominative	glaesum	glaesa
genitive	glaesī	glaesōrum
dative	glaesō	glaesīs
accusative	glaesum	glaesa
ablative	glaesō	glaesīs
vocative	glaesum	glaesa

Further reading

• “glaesum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “glaesum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers