butyrum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [buːˈtyː.rũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [buˈtiː.rum], [ˈbuː.tyː.rũː]^[1]

Forms

būtȳrum n (genitive būtȳrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek βούτυρον (boútūron, “butter”), literally “cow cheese”, from βοῦς (boûs, “cow”).^[2][1][3] Lewis and Short report that it was said to be a Scythian word.^[4] The form ⟨būtūrum⟩ is also found.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Varro, whom he dates 116–27 BC.^[3] Lewis and Short cite Celsus and Columella, and Gaffiot Pliny the Elder.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant butter, used in medicine by Celsus and described by Pliny the Elder.^[2][4][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant butter or cheese.^[6] British Medieval Latin used it for butter, as in Gildas.^[7] It survives in Italian burro, and it was borrowed early into West Germanic, whence Old English butere and English butter.^[8]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.^[3]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it in medicine.^[4][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes it.^[5][3]
• Old English – butere is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Butter.^[2]

Related words

• English butter

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com