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butticula

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word butticula

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
9th century, forged Merovingian diploma
Ultimate origin
Latin buttis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin buttis
Latin butticula

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [bʊtˈtɪ.kʊ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [butˈtiː.ku.la][1]

Forms

butticula f (genitive butticulae); first declension[1] It is also spelled buticula, and the MLW records puticula, poticula and the syncopated -cla and -gla (glossaries have puticla and putigla).[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin buttis (“cask”) + -culus, a diminutive.[1][3][4] Etymonline notes that ⟨buttis⟩ is perhaps from Greek.[5]

It is the source of Old French boteille, Occitan botelha and Spanish botija,[1] and through the French word of English bottle.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wiktionary gives its first attestation as the Antidotum Egias, a recipe, which has cum vino bono in buticula “with good wine in a little flask”; the TLL cites the same phrase.[1][3] It is also in the Reichenau Glossary.[1]

Semantic evolution

It meant a small vessel for wine, a bottle or flask; a forged Merovingian diploma, which the MLW dates to the 9th century, has full flasks of the best wine paid as rent, which makes it a measure of wine.[2] Niermeyer gives the sense “keg, small barrel”.[4]

In Romance it gave the words for “bottle”, which English took over.[1][5]

Timeline

  • 9th century – A forged Merovingian diploma names flasks of wine among the dues.[2]
  • 883 – Notker the Stammerer uses the form poticula for a flask that is found full every day.[2][6]
  • mid-14th century – English has bottle, from Old French.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) A bottle, flask.[1][2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A measure of wine.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A keg, small barrel.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Butticula.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/butticula. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·