aucella

Forms

aucella f (genitive aucellae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin avicella (“little bird”), contracted;^[2][1] that is a diminutive of avis (“bird”).^[2] The TLL instead derives it from auca (“bird, goose”), as a diminutive,^[3] while de Vaan thinks ⟨auca⟩ is probably a back-formation from ⟨aucella⟩ or an unattested ⟨*aucula⟩.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro mentions it in a passage on diminutives; the TLL's text lists it after ⟨avis⟩ and ⟨avicula⟩, while Lewis & Short read Varro as saying that this form was not used, only ⟨avicella⟩.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it post-Classical.^[2] In the cookery book of Apicius small birds (aucellae) are cooked with chicken gizzards and with thrushes.^[3][2] An ancient glossary equates it with ortygometra.^[3] Aucella also appears as a woman's name on Gallic pottery.^[3] The masculine aucellus was made from it.^[1]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro names it among diminutives.^[3][5]
• 4th century AD – Apicius cooks small birds.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (post-Classical) A little bird.^[2][3][1]

Word family

• aucellus

Related words

• avis
• auceps

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de