battualia

Forms

battuālia n pl^[2][3][4] Also spelled battālia.^[2][3][5] Wiktionary treats it as a feminine of the first declension,^[1] as medieval texts often do.^[6]

Etymology

It is from Latin battuō (“to beat; to fence”).^[1][3][4][7] Köbler marks it as a word of spoken (Vulgar) Latin.^[5] Through the form ⟨battālia⟩ it is the source of Italian battaglia and Old French bataille.^[3][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The grammarian Charisius lists it among nouns used only in the neuter plural; it meant the fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators, fought with sticks.^[3][8][5]

Semantic evolution

Cassiodorus' treatise on spelling quotes Adamantius, who connects it with battuātōrēs.^[2][3][4] In Medieval Latin, mostly as a feminine battālia (also batālia), it became a brawl, a judicial duel and the fee paid for one, and in military use a battle, a line of battle and a fortification.^[6][5]

Timeline

• c. 362 AD – Charisius lists it as a neuter plural.^[3][8][5]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus quotes Adamantius on it.^[2][3][5]
• 9th century – The manuscripts of the Burgundian laws use it of a brawl.^[6][5]
• 12th century – A charter of Frederick I lists batalia among royal rights, the fees from judicial duels.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) Fencing exercises of soldiers and gladiators.^[2][3][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A brawl, fight.^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) A judicial duel; the fee due from one.^[6][5]
4. (Medieval Latin) A battle; a line of battle; a fortification.^[6][5]

Related words

• battuō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften