Latin

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Etymology

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From fēlēs (cat) +‎ -īnus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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fēlīnus (feminine fēlīna, neuter fēlīnum); first/second-declension adjective

  1. feline; of or pertaining to a cat
    • 1570, Anthony van Cuyck, Grammatica gallica, page 16:
      Iau, miauler, est vocem felinam edere.
      (The triphthong) iau, (as in) miauler, is to emit a cat's cry.
    • 1652, Christoph Scheiner, Oculus, Liber I, Pars I, Cap. IV:
      Nam fundus Choroidis taurinae caeruleus, felinae flavus existit, &c.
      For the bottom of the taurine Choroid appears blue, the feline, yellow, and so on.
    • 1750, Jan Frederik Gronovius, Index supellectilis lapidea, page 10:
      Lapis felinus, qui ferro attritus urinam felium redolet.
      The cat-stone, which, rubbed with iron, smells like the urine of cats.
    • 1811, Peter Simon Pallas, Zoographia rosso-asiatica, volume I, page 14:
      In felino genere animalitas ad summum gradum evecta et animales spiritus maxime exaltati videntur.
      Within the feline kind are seen animality raised to the highest level and animals particularly elevated of the spirit.

Declension

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First/second-declension adjective.

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Descendants

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  • Catalan: felí
  • English: feline
  • French: félin
  • Galician: felino
  • Italian: felino
  • Occitan: felin
  • Portuguese: felino
  • Sicilian: filinu
  • Spanish: felino

References

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  • felinus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • felinus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.