peculio

See also: pecúlio

Italian

Alternative forms

• pecuglio (archaic)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pecūlium (“property, savings”), from a Proto-Indo-European root *peḱu- (“livestock, domestic animals”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈku.ljo/
• Rhymes: -uljo
• Hyphenation: pe‧cù‧lio

Noun

peculio m (plural peculi)

1. (obsolete) livestock

   Synonym: bestiame

2. (obsolete, figurative) herd

   Synonyms: armento, gregge, mandria

3. (Roman law) a small fortune whose management (but not property) is conceded by the head of household to a son or servant
4. (dated) savings

   Synonyms: capitale, gruzzolo

Derived terms

• peculiare
• peculiarità

Latin

Noun

pecūliō

1. dative/ablative singular of pecūlium

References

• “peculio”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• peculio 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)
• peculio in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “peculio”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pecūlium (“property, savings”). Compare Aragonese pegullo, which was inherited.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈkuljo/ [peˈku.ljo]
• Rhymes: -uljo
• Syllabification: pe‧cu‧lio

Noun

peculio m (plural peculios)

1. savings, scraps, nest egg

Further reading

• “peculio”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10