Etymologically
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butticula

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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