pessulus

English

In this diagram of an avian syrinx, the pessulus is labelled 4

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin pessulus (“bolt (of a door)”).

Noun

pessulus (plural pessuli)

1. (anatomy) A delicate bar of cartilage connecting the dorsal and ventral extremities of the first pair of bronchial cartilages in the syrinx of some birds.
   • 1995, The Condor:

     The pessulus narrows greatly and becomes somewhat "keel-shaped" in the tracheobronchial junction

   • 1982, Donald E. Kroodsma and Edward H. Miller, Acoustic Communication in Birds: Production, Perception and Design Features of Sounds:

     Sound is produced not by the internal but by the external tympaniform membranes; moreover, the pessulus is separate from the tympanum and is attached by the syringeal ligament to the connective tissue sheath enclosing the sternotrachealis muscles

References

• “pessulus”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Latin

Alternative forms

• pessula

Etymology

From Ancient Greek πάσσαλος (pássalos), from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- (whence pangō). See also repāgulum.

Noun

pessulus m (genitive pessulī); second declension

1. a bolt (of a door)

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	pessulus	pessulī
genitive	pessulī	pessulōrum
dative	pessulō	pessulīs
accusative	pessulum	pessulōs
ablative	pessulō	pessulīs
vocative	pessule	pessulī

Derived terms

• *oppessulō
  • oppessulātus

Descendants

• ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *pestulus, *pestellus, *pesclum
  • Italo-Romance:
    • Italian: peschio
  • Gallo-Romance:
    • Catalan: pestell
  • Ibero-Romance:
    • Asturian: piesllu, priesllu
    • Galician: pecho
    • Portuguese: pestilo
    • Spanish: pestillo
    • ⇒ Old Galician-Portuguese: fechar
      • Galician: fechar
      • Portuguese: fechar

References

• “pessulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “pessulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “pessulus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• “pessulus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “pessulus”, in William Smith et al., editor (1890), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London: William Wayte. G. E. Marindin