Etymologically
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alveus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈaɫ.we.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈal.ve.us][1]

Forms

alveus m (genitive alveī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from alvus “belly, cavity” with the suffix -eus.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Plautus, of a beehive.[2] Köbler's first source is Cato.[4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a hollow, as Virgil's hollow of an oak, a trough, as in Cato and Livy, and a bathtub.[2][5][3] It meant the hull of a ship, a boat, as in Livy, the bed or channel of a river, as in Virgil, a trench for vines, a beehive, and a gaming board.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant the channel or bed of a river.[6] In Medieval Latin it meant a trough, tub or basin for brewing, fulling or cooling.[7] It survives in French auge “trough”, Italian albio and Romanian albie.[1] English alveus is a borrowing.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a beehive.[2][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a trough.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a hollow and a riverbed.[2][5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A hollow, cavity.[3][5]
  2. A trough; a bathtub.[2]
  3. The hull of a ship; a boat.[2]
  4. The bed, channel (of a river).[2]
  5. A beehive; a gaming board.[2]

Word family

  • alveārium
  • alveātus
  • alveolus
  • alvārium
  • alveolātus
  • alvus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ 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