pulcher

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly from earlier polcher, which according to Walde-Hoffman and Pokorny reflects Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“motley, variegated”), with dissimilation *perḱ-ro-s > *pelḱ-ro-s, which would make it cognate to Sanskrit पृश्नि (pṛ́śni). De Vaan[1] rejects that connection as both irregular and semantically incompatible/tenuous, and assigns no known etymology.

Pronunciation
  • (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈpul.kʰer/, [ˈpʊɫ.kʰɛr]
  • Audio (Classical)(file)

Adjective

pulcher (feminine pulchra, neuter pulchrum, comparative pulchrior, superlative pulcherrimus); first/second declension

  1. beautiful, fair, pretty
    Synonyms: bellus, fōrmōsus
  2. (figuratively) noble, honorable, excellent
  3. (substantive) beauty

Inflection

First/second declension, nominative masculine singular in -er.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative pulcher pulchra pulchrum pulchrī pulchrae pulchra
Genitive pulchrī pulchrae pulchrī pulchrōrum pulchrārum pulchrōrum
Dative pulchrō pulchrae pulchrō pulchrīs pulchrīs pulchrīs
Accusative pulchrum pulchram pulchrum pulchrōs pulchrās pulchra
Ablative pulchrō pulchrā pulchrō pulchrīs pulchrīs pulchrīs
Vocative pulcher pulchra pulchrum pulchrī pulchrae pulchra

Derived terms

Descendants

References
  • pulcher in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • pulcher in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • pulcher in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
  • pulcher in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • pulcher in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
  1. De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 496
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.