Etymologically
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biber

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈbɪ.bɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈbiː.ber][1]

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