rabuscula

Etymology

 * apparently a diminutive in from an unclear root. L&S and Gaffiot both propose . If that is the correct etymology, the first vowel would presumably be /ā/, not /ă/. The apparent discrepancy in consonants would be explained by the fact that intervocalic /b/ and /w/ were merging to /β/ around the time that Pliny wrote his  (77 CE- the only work containing an attestation of ). As for the element, compare the endings of ,.

Noun

 * 1) a type of vine