cel

Forms

cel m (plural cels)^[1] Muntaner's chronicle often writes ceel, a purely graphic hypercorrection after words such as feel and veent, which had already lost one of their vowels in speech.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin caelum (“sky, heaven”).^{[2][3][4][5][1]}

The same Latin word is Occitan cèl, French ciel, Italian cielo, Spanish cielo, Portuguese céu and Romanian cer.^[6][1]

The Latin word continues Proto-Italic *kailom; de Vaan and Wiktionary connect it with Proto-Indo-European *keh₂i-lo- (“whole”), although Wiktionary also cites a derivation from the root of caedō (“to cut”).^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

CICA's first occurrence is in a feudal document of 1088.^[8] The first literary text is the Homilies d'Organyà, at the end of the 12th century, which retells the parable of the sower: the birds of the sky (los ocels del cel) ate the seed that fell by the road.^[2][8] The word meant both the visible sky and the dwelling of God.^[9][3]

Semantic evolution

In medieval astronomy cel was also each of the crystal spheres thought to carry the planets: Sant Vicent Ferrer speaks of the heaven of the Moon and the eighth heaven of the fixed stars.^[9] The religious sense, the abode of God and the blessed, is as old as the physical one, and the word could stand for God himself.^[9][3]

From the shape of the vault the word was applied to the upper covering of a room or a bed, and fishermen of the eastern coast, the Balearics and the Albufera call a hemispherical net cel.^[2][5] Learned words of the family came early: celestial is already in the Homilies and celeste in Ausiàs March, both from Latin caelestis.^[2][4]

Timeline

• 1088 – first occurrence in CICA, in a feudal document.^[8]
• late 12th century – cel in the Homilies d'Organyà.^[2][8]
• 1325 – Muntaner's chronicle writes ceel.^[2]
• 1344 – sobrecel “canopy” in the ordinances of Pere III.^[4]
• 1381 – Bernat Metge calls death the way to heaven (cami de pujar al cel).^[9]
• 1660 – celobert “inner courtyard”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The sky, the vault that appears above the Earth, bounded by the horizon: un cel ple d'estels.^[10][5][1]
2. (astronomy) The space around the Earth where the Sun, the Moon and the stars move.^[10][5]
3. (historical) Each of the crystal spheres of ancient astronomy.^[10][9]
4. (religion) heaven, the abode of God and the blessed.^[10][5][1]
5. God himself.^[10][3]
6. The upper covering of a bed, a room or a structure; a canopy or ceiling.^[5][3]
7. (fishing) A net on a hoop, used for catching fish such as sea bass.^[5][3][2]

Word family

• celatge
• sobrecel
• sotacel
• celobert
• gratacel
• encelar-se
• arc del cel

Related words

• celeste
• celestial
• cèlic
• celístia
• Latin caelum
• Spanish cielo

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 2, 658
3. ^ a b c d e f Alcover, Antoni M.; Moll, Francesc de B. (1930–1962), Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols., Palma de Mallorca: Moll, p. s.v. cel
4. ^ a b c d Bruguera, Jordi (1996), Diccionari etimològic, Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana, p. 197
5. ^ a b c d e f g Enciclopèdia Catalana, Gran diccionari de la llengua catalana (GDLC), Barcelona: Enciclopèdia Catalana; online edition, https://www.diccionari.cat, p. s.v. cel
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1466
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ a b c d Torruella, Joan; Pérez Saldanya, Manuel; Martines, Josep (dirs.), Corpus Informatitzat del Català Antic (CICA), https://www.cica.cat, p. s.v. cel
9. ^ a b c d e Faraudo de Saint-Germain, Lluís, Vocabulari de la llengua catalana medieval, online edition, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, p. s.v. cel
10. ^ a b c d e Institut d'Estudis Catalans (2007), Diccionari de la llengua catalana, 2nd ed. (DIEC2), Barcelona: Edicions 62; online edition with later updates, https://dlc.iec.cat, p. s.v. cel