alarius

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [aːˈɫaː.ri.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈlaː.ri.us]^[1]

Forms

ālārius (feminine ālāria, neuter ālārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Lewis & Short give a less frequent ālāris.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin āla (“wing”) + -ārius.^[3][1] Etymonline explains ⟨āla⟩ from ⟨*axla⟩, originally the joint of the wing or arm, from Proto-Indo-European *aks- (“axis”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest sources are Cicero and Caesar.^[5] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC and Caesar c. 50 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In military language it meant of the wing of an army, as opposed to the legions, of the auxiliary cavalry, as in Caesar and Livy; in the masculine plural, ālāriī were the auxiliary troops or cavalry.^[3][2][6]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it.^[6][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it.^[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (military) Of the wings; of the auxiliary cavalry.^[3][2]

Noun

1. ālāriī: auxiliary troops or cavalry.^[3]

Related words

• āla
• ālātus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.