fustis

Etymology

Of disputed origin:^[1]

• Some indicate derivation from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd- (“to hit, beat”). Compare *fūtō (“to strike”); this theory is favored by de Vaan, who proposes phonetic development from *fūt-ti-s < *fūssi-s, though he is skeptical of the form of the original Indo-European root.
• Others, for *fonstis < *fondtis < *xʷondtis, refer it to Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen- (“to strike, slay, kill”). Compare offendō. (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈfuːs.tis/, [ˈfuːs̠t̪ɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈfus.tis/, [ˈfust̪is]

Noun

fūstis m (genitive fūstis); third declension

1. a knobbed stick, a cudgel, staff, club

References

Further reading

• “fustis”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fustis”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• fustis in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• fustis in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.