English

Noun

perula ‎(plural perulae)

1. (botany) One of the scales of a leaf bud.
2. (botany) A pouchlike portion of the perianth in certain orchids.

Latin

Etymology 1

The diminutive form of pēra ‎(“a bag”, “a wallet”), formed as pēra +‎ -ula (suffix forming feminine diminutives).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈpeː.ru.la/

Noun

pērula f ‎(genitive pērulae); first declension

1. a little wallet, a pocket
   1. in literal use
   2. (transferred sense, comical) a tumescent womb or paunch

Declension

First declension.

References

• pērŭla in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Etymology 2

From pirum ‎(“a pear”).

Alternative forms

• perla, perna, pella

Pronunciation

• (Classicistic) IPA^(key): /ˈpe.ru.la/

Noun

perula f ‎(genitive perulae); first declension

1. (Medieval Latin) pearl (shelly concretion, usually found in oysters, and often valued in a manner akin to semi-precious jems)
   • 1272, an unknown source in The Natural History of Precious Stones and of the Precious Metals (1867), viii, page 269:

     Una Perla ad modum camahuti.

     A pearl in the manner of a cameo.

Declension

First declension.

Synonyms

• (pearl): margarīta (Classical)

References

• perula in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• PERULA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “perula”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Jan Frederik Niermeyer, Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus : Lexique Latin Médiéval–Français/Anglais : A Medieval Latin–French/English Dictionary, fascicle I (1976), page 794/2, “perula”