en.wiktionary.org

floccus - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Borrowed from Latin floccus.

floccus (plural flocci)

  1. (meteorology) A cloud species which consists of rounded tufts of cloud, often formed by dissipation from larger cloud species. Associated with cirrus, cirrocumulus, altocumulus, and stratocumulus genera.[1]
  2. A flock or tuft of wool or wool-like hairs; the downy plumage of unfledged birds.

Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlok-, related to Old High German blaha (linen, canvas), Old Swedish blan, bla, both from Proto-Germanic *blahǭ, *blagwǭ (cloth, linen), and Old Norse blæja, which is from Proto-Germanic *blahjǭ (linen, cloth).[1]

Alternatively, from Proto-West Germanic *flokkō (down, wool, flock), from Proto-Germanic *flukkô (down, piece of wool, flake, fluff), from Proto-Indo-European *plewk- (hair, fibres, tuft).

floccus m (genitive floccī); second declension

  1. tuft, wisp of wool
  2. (figuratively) trifle (thing of little importance)

Second-declension noun.

  • floccus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • floccus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • floccus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  1. ^ Szemerenyi, Scripta minora: selected essays in Indo-European, Greek, and Latin, Volume 2, p. 714