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alberga

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word alberga

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1024, a charter of Sant Cugat
From
Frankish *harjabergu
Ultimate origin
Frankish *harjabergu

Forms

alberga f (genitive albergae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It came into Latin through Romance, from Frankish *harjabergu (“barracks; shelter”): Wiktionary derives it from a Romance descendant of the Early Medieval Latin heribergo of the Reichenau Glossary.[1] Niermeyer refers it to the Germanic word haribergum (“army camp”),[2][3] and the GMLC derives it within Medieval Latin from the verb albergō (“to lodge”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest dated example in the GMLC is a Catalan charter of 1024 from Sant Cugat, where the abbot is to be given lodging every year for himself, two companions and a squire.[4]

Semantic evolution

In the feudal south it was the right of a lord to be lodged and fed by his vassal, and then the payment made instead of that hospitality.[2][5][4] Niermeyer adds the sense of a lord's household or court,[2] and Wiktionary that of an encampment or barracks.[1]

Old Occitan alberga and, through it, French auberge “inn” are related.[1][6]

Timeline

  • 1024 – A charter of Sant Cugat uses it of the abbot's right to lodging.[4]
  • 1610s – English auberge is borrowed from French.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) The right of lodging and procurement owed by a vassal to his lord.[2][5][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A payment made instead of that hospitality.[2][5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A lord's household or court.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) An encampment, barracks.[1]
  • English auberge

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
  5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Alberga.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/alberga. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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