volucer

Meaning

(declension-3, three-termination) winged
(declension-3, three-termination) flying, able to fly

winged

aliferous

alatus

ales

pennatus

penniger

مجنح

kanatlý

alat

geflogen

πτερωτά

alate

Pronounced as (IPA)

[ˈwɔ.ɫʊ.kɛr]

From volō, volāre (“to fly”). The masculine nominative singular form is derived by syncope from *wolukris, which probably developed by dissimilation from earlier *wolu-klis or *welu-klis, with a suffix ultimately derived from -*tlis, from Proto-Indo-European *-tl-, a variant of the zero-grade of the agent suffix *-tḗr. Compare alacer. However, De Vaan considers the origin of the ending *-kris to be uncertain. Even though the stem of the verb volāre is volā-, this adjective is built on a stem volu- with short /u/, which De Vaan considers unexplained. Sen argues that the stem *welu- was taken from volucra (“larva of a moth that infests vines”), a derivative of volvō (“to (cause to) roll”), based on semantic and formal similarity. There is no consensus on the ultimate etymology of volāre (“to fly”), but one hypothesis is that it comes from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw”); assuming this initial *gʷ is correct, Weiss 2009 reconstructs an earlier stage as *gʷolu-tlis, comparing it to Sanskrit गरुड (garuḍa), which Weiss derives from *garutráḥ, and Schrijver compares it to Sanskrit गरुत्मान् (garutmān).