saeculum
Probably from *sh₂ey- (“to bind, knit, tie together, tie to, connect”) + *-tlom (instrumental suffix) (whence Latin -culum), in the sense of successive generations being linked together over time.[1] Compare Lithuanian sėkla (“seed”), Proto-Celtic*saitlom (“life, age”), Gaulish Sētlocenia, Hittite [script needed] (išhi-, “to bind”), Sanskrit सि (si, “to bind”).
An alternative theory derives the word from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“to sow”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈsae̯.ku.lum/, [ˈs̠äe̯kʊɫ̪ʊ̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈse.ku.lum/, [ˈsɛːkulum]
Noun
saeculum n (genitive saeculī); second declension
- race, breed
- generation, lifetime
- the amount of time between an occurrence and the death of the final person who was alive at, or witness to, that occurrence
- age, time, the times, an era [ quotations ▼]
- century
- worldliness; the world
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | saeculum | saecula |
| Genitive | saeculī | saeculōrum |
| Dative | saeculō | saeculīs |
| Accusative | saeculum | saecula |
| Ablative | saeculō | saeculīs |
| Vocative | saeculum | saecula |