Eden

Forms

Eden (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Biblical Hebrew עֵדֶן (ʿḗḏen).^[2][3] Köbler glosses the Hebrew word “delight, joy” and compares Sumerian eden (“steppe”).^[3] Isidore of Seville already explained that paradise is called Eden in Hebrew, which means dēliciae (“delights”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Isidore of Seville (c. 560–636) names it in his Etymologies as the Hebrew name of paradise, which he places in the East.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

It names the garden of Eden, the earthly paradise.^[2][1] A Latin glossary repeats Isidore's explanation, glossing it deliciae.^[5] Old High German glosses render it with garto “garden”, and Middle High German ones with garte.^[3] In the medieval Latin of the Czech lands it meant paradise in general, the seat of the blessed, and also delight.^[6] It is also the name of a Levite.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville gives it as the Hebrew name of paradise.^[4][3]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Eden, the garden of paradise, the earthly paradise.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Paradise, a pleasant place; the seat of the blessed; delight.^[6]
3. The name of a Levite.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
2. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
5. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences