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aula

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word aula

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
220–130 BC, Pacuvius
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek αὐλή
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (αὐλή)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈau̯.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈaːu̯.la][1]

Forms

aula f (genitive aulae); first declension[1] Virgil has the old genitive aulāī.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek αὐλή (aulḗ, “courtyard, hall”).[3][1][2] Köbler links the Greek word to a root Proto-Indo-European *au̯es- (“to spend the night”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first example in the OLD is Pacuvius: “the young men sing the wedding song, the hall resounds with music”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is the yard or enclosure of a house, as the dog in Horace that barked at a deer skin in the yard, the inner court of a Greek house in Vitruvius, and an entrance hall, the same as the ātrium, as in Pacuvius.[3][2] In the poets it is a royal or noble residence, a palace, as Aeolus who may “boast in that hall” in Virgil, a temple, as Martial's Capitol, and even a beehive.[3] By extension it is the court, the royal or imperial household, as Cicero's “with all the authority of the court”, and a throne or kingdom.[3]

In medieval Latin it is the hall of a castle, a mansion, a town hall, a church and the nave of a church, Church Latin has aula trānsversa for the transept.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius of an entrance hall.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a royal court.[3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of a palace.[3][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius of the inner court of a Greek house.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A courtyard, forecourt; an inner court; an entrance hall.[3][1][2]
  2. A palace, royal residence, (poetic) a temple; a beehive.[3][1]
  3. A royal court, the courtiers; a throne, kingdom.[3][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A hall, mansion, town hall; a church, the nave.[5][1]

Word family

  • aulicus

Usage notes

A separate aula is the Old Latin form of olla “pot”, found in Plautus.[3][1][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Aula.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/aula. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·