Penicillus, penicilli, & Péniculus, peniculi, siue penicillum, & peniculum. Quanuis diminutiua sunt penis, significant tamen ea quibus calceamenta, vasáque terguntur. Festus. Any thing that serueth to scoure, wipe, or make clean. A shoe clout: a dish clout.Penicillo detergitur. Col. Penicillus, & Peniculus, quod etiam neutrum fecit Quintilianus. Plin. A painters pensill.Quam pingam coloribus tuis penicillo meo.Cic.
Lewis and Short: Latin dictionary
pēnĭcillum, i, n., and pēnĭcillus, i, m.dim. [peniculus], lit., a little tail; hence, acc. to diverse usage, I.A painter's brush or pencil: caudam antiqui penem vocabant, ex quo est propter similitudinem penicillus, Cic. Fam. 9, 22, 2; id. Or. 22, 74; Quint. 2, 21, 24: setae e penicillis tectoriis, Plin. 28, 17, 71, 235; Paul. Sent. 3, 6, 63.— B.Transf.1.Painting.Plin. 35, 9, 36, 60.—2.Style of composition: modo mihi date Britanniam, quam pingam coloribus tuis, penicillo meo, Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 15, 2.—II.A roll of lint, a tent, for wounds, etc., Cels. 2, 10; 7, 7, 6; Plin. 34, 11, 26, 113.—III.A small sponge, Col. 12, 18; Plin. 9, 45, 69, 148.—IV.A kind of eye-salve, Inscr. Tōchon, Cachets des Ocul. pp. 66 and 71.