Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

pēnĭcillum, i, n., and pēnĭcillus, i, m. dim. [peniculus], lit., a little tail; hence, acc. to diverse usage,

  1. I. A painter’s brush or pencil: caudam antiqui penem vocabant, ex quo est propter similitudinem penicillus, Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 2; id. Or. 22, 74; Quint. 2, 21, 24: setae e penicillis tectoriis, Plin. 28, 17, 71, § 235; Paul. Sent. 3, 6, 63.
    1. B. Transf.
      1. 1. Painting. Plin. 35, 9, 36, § 60.
      2. 2. Style of composition: modo mihi date Britanniam, quam pingam coloribus tuis, penicillo meo, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 15, 2.
  2. II. A roll of lint, a tent, for wounds, etc., Cels. 2, 10; 7, 7, 6; Plin. 34, 11, 26, § 113.
  3. III. A small sponge, Col. 12, 18; Plin. 9, 45, 69, § 148.
  4. IV. A kind of eye-salve, Inscr. Tōchon, Cachets des Ocul. pp. 66 and 71.