fornix

See also: fórnix

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

fornix

Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowing from Latin fornix (“an arch, vault”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔː(ɹ).nɪks/

Noun

fornix (plural fornices)

1. (anatomy) An archlike or vaulted structure or fold:
   1. The junction where the conjunctiva lining the eyelid meets the conjunctiva overlying the sclera.
   2. (neuroanatomy) A triangular area of white matter in the mammalian brain beneath the corpus callosum and between the hippocampus and the hypothalamus.
   3. The vaulted upper part of the vagina surrounding the uterine cervix.

Derived terms

• fornical
• fornicate
• forniceal
• fornix vaginae

Translations

archlike or vaulted structure or fold

Catalan: fòrnix m Chinese: Mandarin: 穹窿 (zh) (qiónglóng, (Taiwan) qiōnglóng) Finnish: holvi (fi), pohjukka Spanish: fórnix m

brain part

Catalan: fòrnix m Chinese: Mandarin: 穹窿 (zh) (qiónglóng, (Taiwan) qiōnglóng) Esperanto: fornikso Finnish: aivokaari Polish: sklepienie (pl) n Spanish: fórnix m

References

• “fornix”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “fornix”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Latin

Etymology

Probably akin to Latin fornāx and furnus, fornus (“furnace”), and derived from the latter as *fornikos (“vaulted like a furnace”): typologically compare Ancient Greek κάμινος (káminos, “furnace”) beside καμάρα (kamára, “vaulted chamber”), both possibly from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, to curve”).^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfor.niks/, [ˈfɔrnɪks̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfor.niks/, [ˈfɔrniks]

Noun

fornix m (genitive fornicis); third declension

1. (literal) arch, vault
2. (poetic) the arch of heaven
3. brothel, bagnio, stew (situated in a cellar)

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes then please add them!

Inflection

Third-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	fornix	fornicēs
Genitive	fornicis	fornicum
Dative	fornicī	fornicibus
Accusative	fornicem	fornicēs
Ablative	fornice	fornicibus
Vocative	fornix	fornicēs

Derived terms

• cōnfornicō
• fornicārius
• fornicor
• Fornix Fabius

Related terms

• fornicārius
• fornicātim
• fornicātiō
• fornicātor
• fornicātrīx
• fornicātus

 

Descendants

Descendants of fornix

• → Catalan: fòrnix
• → English: fornix
• → Italian: fornice
• → Portuguese: fórnice
• → Romanian: fornix
• → Spanish: fórnix
• → Welsh: ffyrnig

References

1. Rich, Anthony (1849) “fornax”, in The Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary and Greek Lexicon‎, London: Longmans, page 297a
2. Walde, Alois (1921) “Lateinische Etymologien”, in Indogermanische Forschungen, volume 39, pages 74–75
3. Walde, Alois, Hofmann, Johann Baptist (1938) “fornix”, in Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), 3rd edition, volume I, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, page 534
4. Ernout, Alfred, Meillet, Antoine (1985) “fornix”, in Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine: histoire des mots‎ (in French), 4th edition, with additions and corrections of Jacques André, Paris: Klincksieck, published 2001, page 248b
5. Balles, Irene (2008) Rosemarie Lühr, editor, Nominale Wortbildung des Indogermanischen in Grundzügen. Vol. 1: Latein, Altgriechisch (Philologia; 121) (in German), Hamburg: Dr. Kovač, page 50

Further reading

• “fornix”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fornix”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fornix in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• fornix in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “fornix”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fornix in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700‎, pre-publication website, 2005-2016
• “fornix”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin
• Rich, Anthony (1849) “fornix”, in The Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary and Greek Lexicon‎, London: Longmans, pages 297–298