nūclĕus | nŭcŭlĕus (noun M) : (), , for nuculeus, from nux
* A little nut.
* Lit.
* 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.
* Transf.
* 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.
* 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.