Lituus
A word probably containing
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Lituus or Trumpet. (Fabretti.)
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the root of
clino,
κλίνω,
and hence=
(c)lituus, “the bent instrument.”
1.
The crooked staff used by the Roman augurs. With it they divided the expanse of heaven for
purposes of divination, as explained in the articles
Augur;
Divinatio;
Templum. It is probably the original of the archiepiscopal crosier of
the Roman Church. On the derivation, see Müller,
Die Etrusker, iv. 1,
5. An alternative etymology makes it from
litare, “to get good
omens.”
2.
A trumpet slightly curved at the end (
Gell. v. 8). It differs from
both the
tuba, which was straight, and the
cornu,
which was spiral. The
lituus was chiefly used for cavalry-signals.
