# macula
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English macula (“spot on the skin or in the eye”), borrowed from Latin macula (“spot, stain”). Doublet of macchia and macule.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmækjʊlə/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)

### Noun

macula (plural maculas or maculae)
* (anatomy) An oval yellow spot near the center of the retina of the human eye, histologically defined as having two or more layers of ganglion cells, responsible for detailed central vision.
* (anatomy, biology) A small chamber of the inner ear of certain vertebrates filled with endolymph and containing an otolith.
* A spot, as on the skin, or on the surface of the sun or of some other luminous orb.
* A rather large spot or blotch of color.
* In planetary geology, an unusually dark area on the surface of a planet or moon.

#### Derived terms

* lagenar macula

#### Related terms

* (oval yellow spot near the center of the retina): macula lutea, macular

#### Further reading

* macula on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* “macula”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
* “macula”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
* “macula”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

## Catalan
### Verb

macula
* inflection of macular:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## French
### Pronunciation

* Audio:(file)

### Verb

macula
* third-person singular past historic of maculer

## Italian
### Alternative forms

* macola

### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin macula, whence also the inherited doublet macchia.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈma.ku.la/
* Rhymes: -akula
* Hyphenation: mà‧cu‧la

### Noun

macula f (plural macule)
* (anatomy, astronomy, geology) macula
* stain, blot
* (pathology) macule blotch

#### Synonyms

* (stain, blot): macchia

#### Related terms

* maculopatia

### Further reading

* macula on the Italian Wikipedia.Wikipedia $^{it}$
* macula in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

### Anagrams

* caluma, lumaca

## Latin
### Alternative forms

* (Medieval Latin) macla

### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *smatlom, from Proto-Indo-European *smh₂-tló-m (“wiping (perhaps)”), from a root *smeh₂- (“to wipe”); related to Ancient Greek σμάω (smáō, “I wipe clean, cleanse”).

### Pronunciation

* macula: (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäkʊɫ̪ä]
* macula: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäːkulä]
* maculā: (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈma.ku.laː/, [ˈmäkʊɫ̪äː]
* maculā: (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈma.ku.la/, [ˈmäːkulä]

### Noun

macula f (genitive maculae); first declension
* in a bad sense
** (literally and in general) a spot, speck, small mark or stain
*** (literally and in particular) a disfiguring spot, stain, or blemish
**** (on the skin) a blemish, temporary or permanent (for example, a bruise, freckle, mole, birthmark, etc.)
**** (on a garment) a stain, an area of soiling or defilement
** (figuratively) a fault or blemish, a blot on one’s character
** (transferred sense) a mark of shame or disgrace; a stigma, brand, or blight
* in a neutral sense
** any kind of marking or point of variegation; a speckle, spot, patch, line, or similar
*** on the skin or coat of an animal
*** on the leaves of a plant
** (transferred sense) a mesh in a net, a cell in a network, or a hole in a web
*** (Medieval Latin, in particular) a cell in a coat of mail, a ring of mail armour
*** (Medieval Latin, transferred sense) a link in a chain

#### Declension

First-declension noun.

#### Derived terms

* Macula (cognomen)
* maculō
* maculōsus
* maculātūra

#### Descendants

* Vulgar Latin: *macla
** Italo-Romance
*** Corsican: macchia, machja
**** → English: macchia
**** → French: maquis (see there for further descendants)
**** → German: Macchie
*** Italian: macchia
*** Sicilian: macchia (dialectal)
** Padanian:
*** Emilian: macia
*** Friulian: magle
*** Lombard: màcia, màgia
*** Romagnol: macia
*** Venetan: macia
*** From ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *exmacla
**** Emilian: smacia
**** Lombard: smagia
*** Unclear borrowings (Probably through another Padanian language):
**** → Ligurian: màccia
**** → Piedmontese: macia
** Northern Gallo-Romance:
*** Old French: maille
**** French: maille
**** → Middle English: mayle, mail, maile, maille, male, mayl, mayll, maylle, meile
***** English: mail
***** Scots: mail
**** → Old Galician-Portuguese: malla (“mesh”)
***** Galician: malla
***** Portuguese: malha
** Southern Gallo-Romance:
*** Aragonese: malla
*** Catalan: malla
*** Occitan: malha
**** → Italian: maglia
**** → Sicilian: magghia
** Ibero-romance:
*** → Asturian: macla (semi-learned)
*** Old Galician-Portuguese: malla (“stain”)
**** Galician: malla
**** Portuguese: malha
* Vulgar Latin: *mancla
** Asturian: mancha
** Galician: mancha
** Portuguese: mancha
** Spanish: mancha → mangla (semi-learned)
*** → Portuguese: mangra

##### Borrowings

* → Catalan: màcula
* → Czech: machule
* → Dutch: macula
* → Galician: mácula, mágoa (semi-learned)
* → Italian: macula
* → Middle English: macula, macule
** English: macula
* → Middle French: macule
** French: macule
** → English: macule, mackle
* → Old Irish: mocoll
** Irish: mogall
* → Old High German: makel
** German: Makel
* → Portuguese: mácula; mágoa (semi-learned)
* → Russian: макула (makula)
* → Sicilian: màcula
* → Spanish: mácula
* → Slovak: machuľa

### References

* ↑ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “macula”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 357-8

### Further reading

* “măcŭla”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “macula”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* macula 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)
* măcŭla in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 935/2.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. to blot out a reproach: maculam (conceptam) delere, eluere (ambiguous) to sully one's fair fame: vitae splendori(em) maculas(is) aspergere
* “macula” on pages 1,058–1,059 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
* Niermeyer, Jan Frederik (1976) “macula, macla”, in Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden, Boston: E. J. Brill, page 624/1

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* macule

### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin macula. Doublet of mayle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmakiu̯la/

### Noun

macula (plural maculas)
* (Late Middle English, rare) A lesion on the eye or skin.

#### Descendants

* English: macula

#### References

* “macula, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-09.

## Portuguese
### Verb

macula
* inflection of macular:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative

## Romanian
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin maculare or French maculer.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ma.kuˈla/

### Verb

a macula (third-person singular present maculează, past participle maculat) 1st conj.
* to mark, to spoil

#### Conjugation
### Further reading

* macula in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)

## Spanish
### Verb

macula
* inflection of macular:
** third-person singular present indicative
** second-person singular imperative