medulla

See also:médulla

English

Etymology

Borrowed fromLatinmedulla(“pith, marrow”),perhaps frommedius(“middle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/məˈdʌlə/,/mɛdʌlə/,[məˈdɐlə],[mɛˈdɐlə]

• (US)IPA^(key):/məˈdulə/,[məˈdʉɫə]

• Audio(US):

  (file)

Noun

medulla(pluralmedullasormedullaeormedullæ)

1. The soft inner part of something, especially thepithof a fruit.
2. (anatomy)The inner substance of various organs and structures, especially themarrowof bones.
3. (anatomy,neuroanatomy)Themedulla oblongata.
4. (botany)The internal tissue of a plant.

Derived terms

• medulla oblongata
• medullar
• medullary
• medulloblastoma
• renal medulla

Translations

the inner substance of various organs and structures, especially the marrow of bones

• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Tủy chất(zh)(suǐzhì),Tủy(zh)(suǐ)

• Esperanto:medolosg
• Japanese:Tủy(ja)(zui)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish:kirok(ku)f

• Old Polish:drzeńm
• Russian:медула(ru)(medula)
• Spanish:médula(es)f

the medulla oblongata

• Bulgarian:продълговат мозъкm(prodǎlgovat mozǎk)
• French:moelle allongée(fr)f
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish:lakêşemoxm

• Polish:rdzeń przedłużonym
• Russian:продолговатый мозг(prodolgovatyj mozg)

The internal tissue of a plant

• Bulgarian:сърцевина(bg)f(sǎrcevina)

Interlingua

Noun

medulla(pluralmedullas)

1. medulla

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. Traditionally compared toLatinmedius(“middle”),orProto-Indo-European*mosgʰos(“brain, marrow”).(Canthis⁽⁺⁾etymology besourced?)De Vaan mentions neither of these theories, and instead prefers a derivation fromProto-Indo-European*smer-u-lo-,from*smérus(“grease, marrow”),with the irregular change from*-r->-d-resulting from hypercorrection similar to that of*-d->-r-inmerīdiēs(“midday”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin)IPA^(key):/meˈdul.la/,[mɛˈd̪ʊlːʲä]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical)IPA^(key):/meˈdul.la/,[meˈd̪ulːä]

Noun

medullaf(genitivemedullae);first declension

1. (anatomy)bonemarrow
2. (figuratively)as the subjective location of the intense inner physical sensation of a heightened emotion, such as erotic passion
   • c.84BCE– 54BCE,Catullus,4515-16:

     “Ut multō mihi maior ācriorque
     ignis mollibus ārdet in medullīs.”

     “So that a fire far more blazing may burn in my softmarrow.”

   • 29BCE– 19BCE,Virgil,Aeneid4.66-67:

     [...] Ēst mollis flammamedullās
     intereā, et tacitum vīvit sub pectore volnus.

     The flames consume her tendermarrowall the while, and the silent wound dwells within her heart.

Declension

First-declensionnoun.

	singular	plural
nominative	medulla	medullae
genitive	medullae	medullārum
dative	medullae	medullīs
accusative	medullam	medullās
ablative	medullā	medullīs
vocative	medulla	medullae

Derived terms

• medullitus
• medullula
• *medullum

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Aromanian:mãduã
  • Romanian:măduvă
• Italo-Romance:
  • Corsican:marodda,marolla
  • Italian:midolla,midollo
  • Sicilian:miduḍḍa,miruḍḍa
• North Italian:
  • >?Friulian:medole
  • Ligurian:moula,miola,meola
  • Lombard:miòla
  • Piedmontese:miola
  • Venetan:mioła,miola,meoła,meola

    Fiumano:medola

• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal:miola,muola
  • Old French:mëolle
    • French:moelle
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Old Catalan:meolla,molla,mola
    • Catalan:molla
  • Gascon:medora,meula,meura,mora,meusa
  • Occitan:

    Auvergnat:miola,mesola,mzola

    Languedocien:mesolha,mesola,meula,meulha,miola,miolha

    Limousin:meula,meulha

    Provençal:mesola,mevola,meula,meulha

    Vivaro-Alpine:mesolha,mesola,meulha,miola,meula

• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese:miolla,medolla
  • Old Leonese:
    • Asturian:megolla,migolla,meolla,miolla
    • Leonese:megolla,migolla,miolla
    • Mirandese:miolha
  • Old Galician-Portuguese:*meola
    • Galician:miola,mola,meola
    • Portuguese:miola(Northern Portugal)
• Borrowings:
  • →Italian:medulla
  • →Catalan:medul·la
  • →English:medulla
  • →French:médulla
  • →Galician:medula
  • →Portuguese:medula
  • →Spanish:médula

Further reading

• “medulla”,inCharlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879)A Latin Dictionary,Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “medulla”,inCharlton T. Lewis (1891)An Elementary Latin Dictionary,New York: Harper & Brothers
• medullain Charles du Fresne du Cange’sGlossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis(augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• medullainGaffiot, Félix (1934)Dictionnaire illustré latin-français,Hachette.
• Niedermann, Max(1950) “Der Suffixtypus -ullus, -a, -um lateinischer Appellativa”, inMuseum Helveticum‎^[1],pages156–157