sicilicus
/sɪˈsɪlɪkəs/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A diacritic, resembling a 180°-rotated ‘C’ (i.e., being similar in appearance to ⟨ᵓ⟩), written atop a consonant to mark gemination, superseded in Classical Latin by doubling the letter representing the geminated consonant.
noun
A unit of weight equal to one quarter of an uncia.
Example Sentences
- "It is stated by grammarians that a sicilicus or laterally inverted Ⅽ, Ↄ, was placed above a consonant which was to be regarded as a doubled letter."
- "Both the pounds were therefore divided alike into 15 ores, that is, ounces; the ores into 4 skyllings, the sicilici of the Romans, and the skyllings into 4 pence by the Saxons, while the Danes used the mark of 20 skyllings, and the skylling of 2 mancuses."
- "UNCIA (ὀγκία, οὐγκία, οὐγγία), the twelfth part of the As or Libra, is derived by Varro from unus, as being the unit of the divisions of the as (L. L. v. 171, Müller). It was subdivided into 2 semunciae, 3 duellae, 4 sicilici, 6 sextulae, 24 scrupula, and 144 siliquae."
Etymology
From the Latin sicilicus, the diminutive form of sicilis (“sickle”), so named because of its falciformity.
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /sɪˈsɪlɪkəs/
Inflected Forms
Synonyms
siclus