pecunia

Italian

Alternative forms

• pecunio (rare)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin pecūnia, derived from pecū (“cattle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /peˈku.nja/
• Rhymes: -unja
• Hyphenation: pe‧cù‧nia

Noun

pecunia f (plural pecunie) (literary)

1. (usually uncountable, archaic, now chiefly humorous) money

   Synonym: denaro

2. (obsolete) treasury (public finance)

   Synonym: erario

Related terms

• pecora
• pecuniale
• pecuniario
• pecunioso

 

Further reading

• pecunia in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Etymology

From an unattested adjective *pecūnus "having cattle" plus -ia, the first from pecū (“cattle”) +‎ -nus.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /peˈkuː.ni.a/, [pɛˈkuːniä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /peˈku.ni.a/, [peˈkuːniä]

Noun

pecūnia f (genitive pecūniae); first declension

1. money

   Sī pecūniam habērem, pānem emerem.

   If I had money, I would buy bread.

   Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam.

   I have a catapult. Unless you give me all of the money, I will fling an enormous rock at your head.

2. wealth
3. (figuratively) cash, ready money, liquid wealth

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	pecūnia	pecūniae
genitive	pecūniae	pecūniārum
dative	pecūniae	pecūniīs
accusative	pecūniam	pecūniās
ablative	pecūniā	pecūniīs
vocative	pecūnia	pecūniae

Related terms

• pecūlātor
• pecūlātus
• pecūlium
• pecūniārius
• pecūniōsus
• pecus

Descendants

• >? Aromanian: picunjiu, picunj
• → Friulian: pecugne
• → Ido: pekunio
• → Italian: pecunia
• → Portuguese: pecúnia
• → Romanian: pecunie
• → Spanish: pecunia

References

• “pecunia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pecunia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• pecunia 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)
• pecunia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to contribute alms: stipem (pecuniam) conferre
    
  • to squander one's money, one's patrimony: effundere, profundere pecuniam, patrimonium
    
  • to leave money to a person in one's will: pecuniam alicui legare
    
  • much money: pecunia magna, grandis (multum pecuniae)
    
  • little money: pecunia exigua or tenuis
    
  • cash; ready money: pecunia praesens (vid. sect. V. 9, note Notice too...) or numerata
    
  • to spend money: pecuniam erogare (in classem)
    
  • to devote money to a purpose: pecuniam insumere in aliquid or consumere in aliqua re
    
  • to pay cash: pecuniam numerare alicui (Att. 16. 16)
    
  • to pay money: pecuniam solvere
    
  • to owe some one money: pecuniam alicui debere
    
  • to lend some one money (without interest): pecuniam alicui credere (sine fenore, usuris)
    
  • to lend, borrow money at interest: pecuniam fenori (fenore) alicui dare, accipere ab aliquo
    
  • to put out money at interest: pecuniam fenore occupare (Flacc. 21. 54)
    
  • to put money in an undertaking: pecuniam collocare in aliqua re
    
  • the money is bringing in no interest, lies idle: pecunia iacet otiosa
    
  • to borrow money from some one: pecuniam mutuari or sumere mutuam ab aliquo
    
  • to lend money to some one: pecuniam alicui mutuam dare
    
  • to repay a loan: pecuniam creditam solvere
    
  • to demand payment: pecuniam exigere (acerbe)
    
  • to have a large income from a thing (e.g. from mines): magnas pecunias ex aliqua re (e.g. ex metallis) facere
    
  • finance; money-matters: ratio pecuniarum
    
  • money is outstanding, unpaid: pecunia in nominibus est
    
  • I have money owing me: pecuniam in nominibus habeo
    
  • credit and financial position: fides et ratio pecuniarum
    
  • to have pecuniary difficulties: laborare de pecunia
    
  • to be reduced to extreme financial embarrassment: in maximas angustias (pecuniae) adduci
    
  • to extort money from the communities: pecuniam cogere a civitatibus
    
  • the public income from the mines: pecunia publica, quae ex metallis redit
    
  • to embezzle money: avertere pecuniam (Verr. 2. 1. 4)
    
  • to accuse some one of malversation, embezzlement of public money: accusare aliquem peculatus, pecuniae publicae
    
  • to condemn some one to a fine: pecunia multare aliquem
    
• “pecunia”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “pecunia”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• pecunia in Georges, Karl Ernst, Georges, Heinrich (1913–1918) Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th edition, volume 2, Hahnsche Buchhandlung

Spanish

Noun

pecunia f (plural pecunias)

1. (colloquial) dosh; spondulicks; cash

Further reading

• “pecunia”, 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