felinus

Forms

fēlīnus (feminine fēlīna, neuter fēlīnum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin fēlēs (“marten, wild cat”) + -īnus.^[1][2][3] De Vaan finds no etymology for fēlēs; a connection with Welsh bele (“marten”) is possible, but fēlēs could go back to other preforms.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The only classical example is in Celsus, of cat's dung (stercus felinum), and the reading there is doubtful: one editor reads suillum, “of pigs”.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

It meant “of a cat or marten”.^[2][5] Servius has a by-form fēlīneus, of eyes.^[2] Etymonline treats it as Late Latin;^[6] English took it as feline in the 1680s, and Modern Latin made Felis the name of the cat genus.^[6]

Timeline

• 14–37 AD – Celsus speaks of cat's dung, in a doubtful reading.^[2][3]
• c. 400 AD – Servius has the by-form fēlīneus.^[2][3]
• 1680s – Borrowed into English as feline, “cat-like”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a cat or marten; feline.^[2][5][1]

Related words

• English feline

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com