Etymologically
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alarius

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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]

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.