chelys

Latin

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek χέλῡς (khélūs, “tortoise”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈkʰɛ.lys]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈkɛː.lis]

Noun

chelys f (genitive chelyos or chelyis); third declension

1. a tortoise
2. a tortoise shell, a lyre or harp made of a tortoise shell

Declension

Third-declension noun (Greek-type, normal variant).

	singular	plural
nominative	chelys	chelyes
genitive	chelyos chelyis	chelyum
dative	chelyī	chelyibus
accusative	chelyn	chelyas
ablative	chelye	chelyibus
vocative	chelys chely1	chelyes

¹In poetry.

In Classical Latin, only the nominative, accusative, ablative and vocative singular are attested.

Synonyms

• lyra

Related terms

• chelydrus

References

• “chelys”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “chelys”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “chelys”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “chelys”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “chelys”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin