nū^clĕus — Lewis & Short
nū^clĕus (nŭcŭlĕus), i, m.for nuculeus, from nux,
I a little nut.
I Lit.
A A nut; applied also to fruits resembling a nut:
nucleus amygdalae,Plin. 15, 13, 12, § 42:
avellanae,id. 37, 4, 15, § 56:
pinearum nucum,id. 15, 10, 9, § 35; cf.
pineus,Cels. 2, 22.—Prov.: e nuce nuculeum qui esse vult, frangit nucem, he who would eat the kernel of a nut breaks the nut, i. e. he who desires an advantage should not shun the labor of earning it, Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 55:
nuculeum amisi, retinui pigneri putamina,I have lost the kernel and kept the shell, id. Capt. 3, 4, 122.—
B The hard, uneatable kernel, the stone of fruits:
nuculei olivarum,Plin. 37, 11, 73, § 188:
persicorum,id. 23, 7, 67, § 132:
cerasorum,id. 23, 7, 72, § 141:
lignosus nucleus,id. 13, 19, 34, § 112:
acini,id. 23, 1, 9, § 13.—
II Transf.
A The kernel, the inner part, inside of a thing:
nucleus gallae,Plin. 24, 4, 5, § 10:
myrrhae,id. 12, 16, 35, § 70:
allii,id. 19, 6, 34, § 111:
conchae,pearls, id. 9, 35, 55, § 111.—
B The kernel, i. e. the hardest, firmest, most solid part of a thing:
pinguitudinis (terrae),Plin. 17, 6, 4, § 42:
ferri,id. 34, 14, 41, § 144; 36, 25, 62, § 187:
insuper ex testā nucleus inducatur,Vitr. 7, 1.