inventiuncula

Latin

Etymology

From inventiō (“invention”) +‎ -culus (diminutive suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /in.u̯en.tiˈun.ku.la/, [ɪnu̯ɛn̪t̪iˈʊŋkʊɫ̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /in.ven.t͡siˈun.ku.la/, [iɱvent̪͡s̪iˈuŋkulä]

Noun

inventiuncula f (genitive inventiunculae); first declension

1. (post-Augustan) diminutive of inventiō: trifling invention
   • c. 95 CE, Quintilian, Institutes of Oratory 8.5.22:

     Ad hoc plerique minimis etiam inventiunculis gaudent, quae excussae risum habent

     Moreover, many also take delight in even the smallest inventions, which when revealed provoke laughter

Inflection

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	inventiuncula	inventiunculae
genitive	inventiunculae	inventiunculārum
dative	inventiunculae	inventiunculīs
accusative	inventiunculam	inventiunculās
ablative	inventiunculā	inventiunculīs
vocative	inventiuncula	inventiunculae

Related terms

• inveniō (verb)

References

• “inventiuncula”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press