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Langobardi

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Forms

Langobardī m pl (genitive Langobardōrum); second declension[1] Also spelled Longobardi.[2][3] The singular is Langobardus, and medieval Latin also has Lombardus.[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Proto-Germanic *langabardaz, the people's own Germanic name.[5] Köbler calls the origin of the name unclear.[3] Etymonline gives it as *Langgobardoz, often taken to mean “long beards”, but reports the OED's view that the second element may rather be the name of the people the Romans called Bardi.[6] Paul the Deacon already explained the name as “long beards”, saying that in their language ⟨lang⟩ meant long and ⟨baert⟩ beard.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Velleius Paterculus calls them a nation fiercer even than the Germans in their wildness.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Classical writers place the Lombards in northern Germany, on the lower Elbe.[1][7] Medieval writers knew them as the people who invaded Italy,[2] where they settled from 568.[6] In medieval Latin the singular could also mean an inhabitant of Lombardy and, as “the Lombard”, the theologian Peter Lombard.[4] Because Lombards were known across medieval Europe as bankers and money-lenders, the Middle English word meant a banker, money-changer or pawnbroker before it meant the nationality.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus describes their fierceness.[7][8][3]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus names them in the Germania and the Annals.[7][9][3]
  • 787–799 – Paul the Deacon explains the name as “long beards”.[2][3]
  • late 14th century – The Middle English word is used for a banker or pawnbroker.[6]
  • late 15th century – English Lombard is used for an inhabitant of Lombardy.[6]

Meanings

Proper noun

  1. The Lombards, a Germanic people living on the lower Elbe.[1][7][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) The Lombards who conquered and settled northern Italy.[2]
  • English Lombard

References

  1. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  6. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  9. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.