Stercus
/ˈstɛr.kus/noun
Latin for dung or excrement.
Did you know?Stercus is the source of English words like stercoraceous and stercoral, and it’s tied to a PIE root meaning “dung/manure,” showing how brutally concrete ancient word-making could be.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ster-
“Dung, manure, excrement”
Old Latin
Latin
stercus
“Dung, manure, excrement”
Classical Latin
Latin
stercus
“Dung; by extension, something worthless or filthy”
Late Latin
Latin
stercor-
“Combining form used in words relating to dung or excrement”
Modern English
English
stercoraceous
“Relating to or resembling dung”
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