vitula

See also: Vitula

Latin

Alternative forms

• vidula, viella, viēla, viōla, fiōla (Medieval Latin)

Etymology

Feminine counterpart of vitulus (“a [male] calf”). Whether the word for a string instrument is from this source is quite uncertain, but may be related to strings being made from the intestines of cattle; may also be a borrowing from Frankish *fiþulā (“violin, fiddle”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈwɪ.tʊ.ɫa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈviː.tu.la]

Noun

vitula f (genitive vitulae); first declension

1. Latin: the Roman goddess of joy and victory. See (Vitulatio)
2. a young cow, a female calf, a heifer
3. (Medieval Latin) a stringed musical instrument, probably the viola

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	vitula	vitulae
genitive	vitulae	vitulārum
dative	vitulae	vitulīs
accusative	vitulam	vitulās
ablative	vitulā	vitulīs
vocative	vitula	vitulae

Derived terms

• vitella

Descendants

• Aromanian: yitsauã
• Catalan: vedella
• French: velle
• Friulian: vidiele
• Istro-Romanian: vițe
• Italian: vitella
• Occitan: vedèla
• Romanian: vițea
• Romansch: vadeala
• Sardinian: bitella
• Sicilian: viteḍḍa

Borrowings:

• → Galician: vitela
• → Portuguese: vitela
• → Spanish: vitela

References

• “1. vĭtŭla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "VITULA", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “vitula”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “1 vĭtŭla”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette: “1,687/1”
• “uitula¹” on page 2,081/1 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)