molecula

See also: molécula, molècula, and moleculă

English

Etymology

From Latin molecula.

Noun

molecula (plural moleculae)

1. (now historical) A molecule; a small particle of something. [from 18th c.]
   • 1751, John Locke, Elements of Natural Philosophy, section XII:

     Smal bodies, of Atoms, out of whose various combinations bigger molleculæ are made.

   • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, Oxford, published 2009:

     They acted by the ancient organized states in the shape of their old organization, and not by the organic moleculae of a disbanded people.

Latin

Alternative forms

• mōlēcola

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin mōlēs

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

Proto-Italic *-elos

Proto-Italic *-kelos

Latin -cula

Latin molecula

From mōlēs (“mass”) + -cula (diminutive suffix). Coined by Pierre Gassendi in 1641. Modern meaning first used by Amedeo Avogadro in 1811.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [moːˈɫeː.kʊ.ɫa]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [moˈlɛː.ku.la]

Noun

mōlēcula f (genitive mōlēculae); first declension

1. (New Latin, chemistry) molecule

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	mōlēcula	mōlēculae
genitive	mōlēculae	mōlēculārum
dative	mōlēculae	mōlēculīs
accusative	mōlēculam	mōlēculās
ablative	mōlēculā	mōlēculīs
vocative	mōlēcula	mōlēculae

Descendants

• → English: molecule
• → Armenian: մոլեկուլ (molekul)
• → Asturian: molécula
• → Catalan: molècula
• → Czech: molekula
• → Estonian: molekul
• → Finnish: molekyyli
• → French: molécule
  • → Crimean Tatar: molekula
  • → Dutch: molecuul
  • → English: molecule
  • → Persian: مولکول (molekul)
  • → German: Molekül
  • → Hungarian: molekula
  • → Khmer: ម៉ូលេគុល (mouleikul)
  • → Lao: ໂມເລກູນ (mō lē kūn)
• → Galician: molécula
• → Georgian: მოლეკულა (moleḳula)
• → Ido: molekulo
• → Italian: molecola
• → Latvian: molekula
• → Macedonian: молекула (molekula)
• → Norman: molétchule
• → Norwegian: molekyl
• → Polish: molekuła
• → Portuguese: molécula
• → Romanian: moleculă
• → Russian: моле́кула (molékula)
• → Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic script: молѐкула

  Latin script: molekula

• → Sicilian: mulìcula
• → Slovene: molekula
• → Spanish: molécula
• → Swedish: molekyl
• → Turkish: molekül

References

• “molecula”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• molecula in Ramminger, Johann (16 July 2016 (last accessed)), Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎^[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016