Meaning of Celtis | Babel Free

Definitions

1. a tree, considered to be the hackberry
   declension-3, feminine
2. dative/ablative plural of Celtae
   ablative, dative, form-of, plural
3. chisel
   declension-3, feminine

Examples

“Eadem Africa, qua vergit ad nos, insignem arborem loton gignit, quam vocat celthim, et ipsam Italiae familiarem, sed terra mutatam. praecipua est circa Syrtis atque Nasimonas. magnitudo quae piro, quamquam Nepos Cornelius brevem tradit. incisurae folio crebriores; alioqui ilicis viderentur. differentiae plures, eaeque maxime fructibus fiunt. magnitudo huic fabae, color croci, sed ante maturitatem alius atque alius, sicut uvis. nascitur densus in ramis myrti modo, non ut in Italia cerasis, tam dulcis ibi cibo, ut nomen etiam genti terraeque dederit nimis hospitali advenarum oblivione patriae. ferunt ventris non sentire morbos qui eum mandant.”

Translation by Harris Rackham Africa also, where it faces in our direction, produces a remarkable tree, the lotus, called in the vernacular celthis, which also has been naturalized in Italy, though it has been altered by the change of soil. The finest lotus is found round the Syrtes and the district of the Nasamones. It is the size of a pear, although Cornelius Nepos states that it is a short fruit. The incisions in the leaf resemble those in the holm-oak, except that they are more numerous. There are several varieties of lotus, differing chiefly in their fruits. This one is the size of a bean and saffron-coloured, but it changes colour several times before it is ripe, like grapes. It grows in thick clusters on the branches like myrtle-berries and not like cherries as it does in Italy; in its own country it is so sweet to eat that it has even given its name to a race of people and to a land which is too hospitable to strangers who come there, making them forget their native land. It is reported that chewing this lotus prevents gastric diseases. The better kind has no stone inside it, those of the other variety having a kernel of a bony appearance. Also a wine is pressed from this fruit that resembles mead, which again according to Nepos will not keep for more than ten days; he states that the berries are chopped up with spelt and stored in casks for food. Indeed we are told that armies have been fed on this while marching to and fro through Africa. The wood is of a black colour, and is in demand for making melodious flutes, while out of the root are devised knife-handles and other short implements.

CEFR level