tīruncŭlus, i, m. dim. [tiro],
a young beginner , little tiro (post-Aug.): ut probarem tibi, quam vehementes haberent tirunculi impetus primos ad optima quaeque, Sen. Ep. 108, 23: servitia sic tirunculum (vilicum) contemnunt ut senem, Col. 11, 1, 3: quod me quamquam tirunculum sollicitavit ad Emendum, Plin. Ep. 3, 6, 4: nec frustum capreae Novit noster tirunculus, Juv. 11, 143. — In apposition: miles, Suet. Ner. 21 fin. —In fem. : tīruncŭla , ae, a female beginner : saluta Blaesillam et Eustochium, tirunculas nostras, female pupils , novices , Hier. Ep. 31, 14.—Of a bitch that has littered for the first time, Col. 7, 12, 11.