pulvis

Meaning

1. (declension-3, feminine, masculine, sometimes) dust, powder, ashes
2. (declension-3, feminine, figuratively, masculine, sometimes) an arena, place of contest
3. (declension-3, feminine, masculine, sometimes) toil, effort, labor

Concepts

dust

powder

scene of action

arena

Translations

poussière

polvo

pó

Staub

polvere

stof

poeira

pols

toz

σκόνη

غبار

polvèra

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈpʊɫ.wɪs]

Etymology

Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“flour, dust”), with accompanying comparanda given in the box below.
Cognates
* Latin pollen
* Sanskrit पलाल (palāla)
* Ancient Greek πάλη (pálē, “dust, meal”)
* Albanian pluhur, Gheg Albanian pluhun (possibly)
* Lithuanian pelenai
* Russian пепел (pepel)
* Old Church Slavonic попелъ (popelŭ), пепелъ (pepelŭ)
However, De Vaan is skeptical and prefers a derivation from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₁- (“chaff”), comparing palea (“idem”); see there for more.