lapillus

English

Etymology

From Latin lapillus.

Noun

lapillus (plural lapilli)

1. A fragment of lava ejected from a volcano.
   • 2007 May 8, Henry Fountain, “It’s Still Dark Out, So Why Are the Birds Singing Away?”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     They also found rounded granules that are probably accretionary lapilli — volcanic hailstones, formed as material gathers in the air.

2. (zoology) One of the otoliths in finfish.

Hypernyms

• tephra

Latin

Etymology

Diminutive from lapis (“stone”) +‎ -illus, likely originally formed on the oblique stem as lapid- +‎ -lus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /laˈpil.lus/, [ɫ̪äˈpɪlːʲʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /laˈpil.lus/, [läˈpilːus]

Noun

lapillus m (genitive lapillī); second declension

1. A small stone, pebble.
2. Stone in the bladder, gravel, calculus.
3. A precious stone, gem, jewel; marble.
4. A tombstone.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	lapillus	lapillī
genitive	lapillī	lapillōrum
dative	lapillō	lapillīs
accusative	lapillum	lapillōs
ablative	lapillō	lapillīs
vocative	lapille	lapillī

Derived terms

• lapillīscō
• lapillulus

Related terms

• lapicīda
• lapicīdīnae
• lapicīdīnārius
• lapidāris
• lapidārius
• lapidātiō
• lapidātor
• lapidēscō
• lapideus
• lapidō
• lapidōsitās
• lapidōsus
• lapiō
• lapis

Descendants

• → Italian: lapillo

References

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