Etymologically
Log in

caelicola

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 13:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kae̯ˈlɪ.kɔ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [t͡ʃeˈliː.ko.la][1]

Forms

caelicola m or f (genitive caelicolae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin caelum2 (“sky, heaven”) + -cola (“dweller”), from the stem of colō1 (“to inhabit, cultivate”).[2][3][4] De Vaan traces caelum2 to Proto-Italic *kailo- (“sky”) and colō1 to Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁-e/o- (“to go round”).[5] Augustine explains that the gods are given this name only because they dwell in heaven.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius uses it in the Annals, with the genitive plural caelicolum.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a poetic name for a god or goddess, a dweller in heaven, in Virgil, Ovid and Valerius Flaccus, and Virgil also uses it as an adjective.[2][3] Juvenal has the genitive caelicolārum.[2][3] In the Theodosian and Justinian codes caelicolae are worshippers of the heavens, a sect.[3] In Christian and Medieval Latin it means an angel, and also a monk;[7] in British sources it is also used of the Culdees.[8]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius, of the gods.[3][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of a god and as an adjective.[2][3][4]
  • c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal has the genitive plural caelicolārum.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An inhabitant of heaven, a god or goddess.[2][3][1]
  2. (Late Latin) A worshipper of the heavens.[3][1]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An angel; a monk.[7][9]

Adjective

  1. Dwelling in heaven.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson