nugae

Latin

Alternative forms

• naugae (archaic)

Etymology

Unknown. Perhaps a borrowing from another Italic language, cognate with nux (“nut”) and naucum (“nutshell, trifle”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈnuː.ɡae̯/, [ˈnuːɡäe̯]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈnu.d͡ʒe/, [ˈnuːd͡ʒe]

Noun

nūgae f pl (genitive nūgārum); first declension

1. jokes, jests
2. trifles
   • c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 1.3–4:

     Corneli, tibi: namque tu solebas / meas esse aliquid putare nugas

     To you, Cornelius: since you used to regard my trifles to be something

3. worthless people

Usage notes

• The singular nūga is not used classically, but is attested in New Latin.

Declension

First-declension noun, plural only.

Case	Plural
Nominative	nūgae
Genitive	nūgārum
Dative	nūgīs
Accusative	nūgās
Ablative	nūgīs
Vocative	nūgae

Derived terms

• nūgācitās
• nūgāmenta
• nūgātor
• nūgātōrius
• nūgāx
• nūgidicus
• nūgō
• nūgor
• nūgula

 

References

• “nugae”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “nugae”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nugae in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.