peculium means the savings of a son or a slave, with the father's or master's consent; a little property or stock of one's own. It carries an Arena rating of 1650, earned across 26 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, peculium ranks #928 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,182 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #2,118 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,783 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
Why “peculium” is a great word
PECULIUM — [Noun] In Roman law, property or savings that a father or master permitted a son or slave to hold and use as his own. From the Latin peculium ("private property"), from pecu ("cattle, flock"), reflecting cattle as a primary form of wealth in ancient times. Unlike patrimony, which implies full, inherited ownership, or peculiar, its estranged cousin now denoting strangeness, peculium is a grant of contingent possession, a pocket of autonomy within absolute authority. It is the small hoard of coins in a slave’s locked box, the plot of land a father allows his son to tend, the brittle ledger of accounts one might call one’s own while belonging to another—a legal fiction that outlines the stark architecture of power, a sanctioned mirage of freedom.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin peculium. See peculiar.
noun
- The savings of a son or a slave, with the father's or master's consent; a little property or stock of one's own.
- A special fund for private and personal uses.e.g.“Still, however, he gained something, and it was the glory of his heart to carry it to Mr MacMorlan weekly, a slight peculium only subtracted, to supply his snuff-box and tobacco-pouch.” — 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, [
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.
- peculation 60% match — The wrongful appropriation or embezzlement of shared or public property, usually by a person entrusted with the guardianship of that property. vs peculium →
- peculate 53% match — To embezzle. vs peculium →
- patrimony 53% match — A right or estate inherited from one's father; or, in a larger sense, from any male ancestor. vs peculium →
- sumptuaries 52% match — Things (especially luxurious or sumptuous possessions) that a person owns. vs peculium →
- usufruct 51% match — The legal right to use and derive profit or benefit from property that belongs to another person, as long as the property is not damaged. vs peculium →
- patrimonially 51% match — according to patrimony; by inheritance. vs peculium →
- sportule 50% match — A charitable gift or contribution; alms; a sportula. vs peculium →
- purloin 50% match — To take the property of another, often in breach of trust; to appropriate wrongfully; to steal. vs peculium →