bandum
Forms
bandum n (genitive bandī); second declension[1][2] A masculine ⟨bandus⟩ and the spellings ⟨vandum⟩ and ⟨bannum⟩ also occur.[2][3][4]
Etymology
It is a Germanic word.[5][3] Georges and the TLL compare Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍅𐌰 (bandwa, “sign”);[1][5][6] Etymonline takes it from Frankish or another West Germanic language, from Proto-Germanic *bandwa- (“sign, banner; company under a banner”),[7] and Köbler connects it with Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- (“to shine”).[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
A Latin–Greek glossary renders it with ⟨σίγνον⟩, the military standard.[1][5][8] The first dated author is Paul the Deacon, who writes in his History of the Lombards of the standard that they call bandum.[2][9][4]
Semantic evolution
It was the banner or standard carried in war,[2][3] and the troop that followed a banner;[2] the Origo gentis Langobardorum already speaks of a vando taken from the king of the Heruli.[2] Agnellus of Ravenna uses it in the 9th century,[4] and in his day it also named the district where the men of one troop lived.[4][2] It was used of church banners and of banners in general,[2] and Du Cange cites a chronicle in which Pepin gives a golden banner taken in battle to Saint Martial.[9] In British sources it is a small banner or pennon,[10] in Hungarian heraldry a band across a shield,[11] and in Poland the feudum bandōrum of vassals who fought under their lord's banner.[12]
English banner comes from Old French ⟨baniere⟩, from it.[7]
Timeline
- 787–799 – Paul the Deacon says that the Lombards call a standard bandum.[2][4]
- 831–846 – Agnellus of Ravenna uses it.[4]
- c. 1200 – English banner appears, through Old French.[7]
- 1385 – A Polish document speaks of a fief held under a banner.[12]
- 1405 – A Hungarian grant of arms describes two black bands on a shield.[11]
Meanings
Noun
- (Late and Medieval Latin) A banner, standard, military flag.[1][3][2][10]
- (Medieval Latin) A troop of soldiers under one banner;[2] the district where its members lived.[2][4]
- (Medieval Latin, heraldry) A band across a shield.[11]
Related words
Usage notes
It is easily confused with bannus “ban, proclamation”, a different Germanic word: Niermeyer lists a second ⟨bandum⟩ that is only a spelling of ⟨bannus⟩,[3] Du Cange shows ⟨bandum⟩ for a fine in Italian charters,[9] and the DMLBS has ⟨bannum⟩ in the sense “banner”.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
- ^ a b c 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
- ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
- ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl