apotheca

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [a.pɔˈtʰeː.ka]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [a.poˈtɛː.ka]^[1]

Forms

apothēca f (genitive apothēcae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē, “storehouse”), from ἀποτίθημι (apotíthēmi, “to put away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away”) and τίθημι (títhēmi, “to put”).^[2][1][3] Augustine and Isidore render it ⟨repositōria⟩.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero, whom he dates 81–43 BC.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a storehouse, storeroom, especially for wine, a cellar where wine was mellowed in smoke, as in Cicero and Vitruvius.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a storeroom, cellar.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for a shop, a booth, a chemist's shop and a mercer's.^[8] It survives in Italian bottega, French boutique and Spanish bodega.^[1][9] Its derivative apothēcārius gave English apothecary in the mid-14th century.^[10]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a storeroom.^[6][3]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it.^[6][3]
• mid-14th century – English apothecary is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A storehouse; a wine cellar.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A shop; a chemist's shop.^[8]

Word family

• apothēcārius
• apothēcō

Related words

• English apothecary
• English boutique
• English bodega

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com