philomela

See also: Philomela

Latin

Etymology

Figurative usage of Philomēla, from Ancient Greek Φιλομήλη (Philomḗlē), from φίλος (phílos, “love”) +‎ μῆλον (mêlon, “apple; fruit; sheep”), but folk-etymologized since at least Ovid's time as "lover of song".

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /pʰi.loˈmeː.la/, [pʰɪɫ̪ɔˈmeːɫ̪ä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /fi.loˈme.la/, [filoˈmɛːlä]

Proper noun

philomēla f (genitive philomēlae); first declension

1. (literary zoology, originally) The swallow.
2. (literary zoology, mistakenly) The nightingale.

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	philomēla	philomēlae
genitive	philomēlae	philomēlārum
dative	philomēlae	philomēlīs
accusative	philomēlam	philomēlās
ablative	philomēlā	philomēlīs
vocative	philomēla	philomēlae

References

• “Phĭlŏmēla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• Phĭlŏmēla in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.