bacar

Forms

bacar n (genitive bacaris); third declension^[1][2] An ancient glossary has the spelling ⟨bavar⟩, glossed with a Greek word for a vessel.^[3][4][5]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[3] Wiktionary and Köbler derive it from bāca (“berry, fruit of a tree”),^[2][5] Köbler explaining it as a wine vessel shaped like a berry.^[5] The TLL suggests instead that it may come from ⟨bacca⟩, which according to Varro was a word for wine in Hispania, and compares the gloss word ⟨bacarium⟩.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is known from Paulus' epitome of Festus, which defines it as a wine vessel similar to the ⟨bacriō⟩;^[1][6][7][5] Köbler dates this source to the 8th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare word, not found in literary texts:^[7][8] Lewis & Short add a comparison with a passage of Commodian,^[6] and the TLL records a Sicilian dialect word ⟨bacara⟩ that continues it.^[3] Medieval glossaries still explain it as a wine vessel.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 8th century AD – Paulus' epitome of Festus records it as a wine vessel.^[1][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A wine vessel, similar to the ⟨bacriō⟩; a wine glass.^[1][6][7][8]

Related words

• bāca

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
10. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre