biber

Forms

biber f (genitive biberis); third declension^[1] Medieval texts also have bibera, biberium and bibarium.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin bibere (“to drink”), the present infinitive cut short to ⟨biber⟩ and then declined as a noun.^[3][4][5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The short infinitive is old: Charisius quotes biber from Cato, Titinius and Fannius,^[6] in the phrase biber dare, “to give to drink”.^[3] The Romanus whom Charisius quotes already seems to have taken it as a noun.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Later writers declined it as a feminine noun meaning a drink.^[3][4] The Rule of Saint Benedict allows a drink each (singulās biberēs) and bread above the set ration, and Caesarius of Arles' rule for monks allows two drinks at the midday meal.^[3]

In medieval monastic custom it was the drink portion handed out to each person, of wine or beer, often taken over from the Rule of Benedict;^[7] British sources also use it for a drinking time before supper and for drink money given to workmen.^[2]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses the shortened infinitive biber.^[6][8]
• 529 AD – The Rule of Saint Benedict uses it as a noun for a drink.^[3][8]
• c. 1148 – The Sempringham institutes speak of serving ad biberēs before supper.^[2]
• 1470 – An Oxford account pays drink money to a slater and his men.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A drink, beverage.^[4][5][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A drink portion allotted to each monk or person.^[7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A drinking time; drink money.^[2]

Usage notes

In early Latin biber is not a noun but the shortened infinitive of bibō, as in biber dare “to give to drink”.^[6][3][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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
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. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de