mustela
See also: Mustela
English
Etymology
From Latin mūstēla and translingual Mustela.
Noun
mustela (plural mustelas)
- Any of the carnivorous mammals of the genus Mustela.
- 1826, John Mason Good, “Lecture I. On Zoological Systems, and the Distinctive Characters of Animals”, in The Book of Nature, volume II, London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, […], page 56:
- Almost all of the mustelas have a power of secreting and discharging a most fetid and intolerable stench at their will; and many of them do it as a mean of defence: and often so effectually that the very beast that pursues them is compelled to relinquish the chace, so completely is he overpowered by its noisome vapour.
- 1859, S. F. Baird, “Part II. Zoology of the Boundary”, “Mammals”, in William H. Emory, editor, Report on the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, Made under the Direction of the Secretary of the Interior, volume II, Washington: A. O. P. Nicholson, “9. FELIS YAGUARUNDI, Desm. (p. 88)”, page 12:
- Skull.—The skull of the Felis yaguarundi, in general shape, exhibits a close relationship to that of F. eyra, and, like it, much narrower and elongated than in the Felida concolor or pardalis; calling to mind the mustelas as much as the cats.
- 1962, Acta Medica et Biologica, volume 10, page 193:
- Among the carnivores researched, the brain of bear seems to be the most highly differentiated as can be confirmed in the comparative anatomical features of the thalamus and hypothalamus (ITÔ, 1952; KOIKEGAMI, 1947), and that of the mustela is regarded as minimally developed, contrary to the opinion of JESERICH (1945).
Synonyms
Latin
Alternative forms
- mūstella
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *múh₂s |
Probably from unattested form *mūstrelā, a diminutive from a Proto-Italic *mūstrā (“mouse-like animal”) (reflected in mūstricula (“last”)), related to mūs (“mouse”).[1]
Other hypotheses include:
- From a Proto-Indo-European compound *múh₂s-dʰers-leh₂ (“mouse-grabber”).[2]
- Cognate with Proto-Slavic *mystlь, *mystlъ (“flying squirrel”) and Ossetian мыстулӕг (mystulæg, “weasel”),[3] said to be inherited from Proto-Indo-European; far more likely, though, this would represent a Wanderwort of which the source is either Latin or Scythian. The relationship (if any) between these words remains uncertain.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /muːsˈteː.la/, [muːs̠ˈt̪eːɫ̪ä]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /musˈte.la/, [musˈt̪ɛːlä]
Declension
First-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | mūstēla | mūstēlae |
| Genitive | mūstēlae | mūstēlārum |
| Dative | mūstēlae | mūstēlīs |
| Accusative | mūstēlam | mūstēlās |
| Ablative | mūstēlā | mūstēlīs |
| Vocative | mūstēla | mūstēlae |
Derived terms
Descendants
References
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “mūs, mūris”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 396–397
- Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “gl̥h₁ís”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 387
- Trubachyov, Oleg, editor (1994), “*mystlь”, in Этимологический словарь славянских языков [Etymological dictionary of Slavic languages] (in Russian), numbers 21 (*mъrskovatъjь – *nadějьnъjь), Moscow: Nauka, →ISBN, page 52
Further reading
- “mustela”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “mustela”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- mustela in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “mustela”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
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