abellana

Forms

abellāna f (genitive abellānae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin Abellānus (“of Abella”), the feminine of the adjective used as a noun: a shortening of ⟨nux abellāna⟩ “nut of Abella”.^[2][1] The adjective is formed from Latin Abella + -ānus, from the name of the town of Abella in Campania.^[3][1] Pliny the Elder says that these nuts were once called ⟨abellīnae⟩ after their place of origin.^[2]

De Vaan notes that Virgil describes Abella as rich in fruit trees, and that Ernout–Meillet and Walde–Hofmann see in the name the word for “apple”; he finds this very uncertain, since the original meaning of the place name is unknown and the town was known for other fruits besides apples.^[3] The Oscan form abellanús “inhabitants of Abella” is attested.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato, in the 2nd century BC, names nuces abellanae, hazelnuts, in his work on agriculture.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin the adjective was used chiefly in nux abellāna “filbert” and nucleus abellānus, and Pliny the Elder measured other fruits as being “the size of a hazelnut”.^[2] The feminine alone, abellāna, meant the nut itself, and Pliny also used it for the hazel tree.^[2] The spelling with ⟨v⟩, avellāna, is also found.^[2][4]

Medieval glossaries render it with Old High German and Old English words for the hazel and hazelnut, and some also with words for the medlar or the sloe.^[5][6] British Medieval Latin used it for the hazelnut and sometimes for the walnut.^[6] It lives on in Italian avellana and Romanian alună.^[7][1]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato names nuces abellanae in his work on agriculture.^[2][5]
• 1st century AD – Columella and Celsus use the phrase nux abellana.^[2][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the feminine alone for the nut and the hazel tree.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hazelnut, filbert.^[2][1]
2. A hazel tree.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A walnut.^[6]

Usage notes

The word is also spelled avellāna.^[2][4] Classical authors mostly wrote the full phrase nux abellāna.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier