calcarius

Forms

calcārius (feminine calcāria, neuter calcārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin calx² (“lime”) + -ārius.^[2][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of ⟨calx⟩, which he takes as a loanword, either from Ancient Greek χάλιξ (khálix, “small stone, gravel”) or from another Mediterranean language from which it entered Latin and Greek separately.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Cato on,^[3] who in his treatise on agriculture gives the measurements of a fornax calcaria, a kiln for burning lime, and also uses the noun for the lime burner who takes the lime out of the kiln.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective stayed close to its first use, describing kilns for burning lime;^[2] Pliny the Elder recommends ash from lime kilns.^[2] The feminine calcāria was used on its own, with fornax understood, for a lime kiln, as in Tertullian, and in the Digest for a lime quarry.^[4]

English borrowed it in the 1670s as calcarious, later spelled calcareous, “of the nature of lime”.^[5]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses fornax calcaria for a lime kiln and calcarius for a lime burner.^[2][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder mentions the ash of lime kilns.^[2][6]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses the feminine calcaria as a noun for a lime kiln.^[4][6]
• 1670s – English borrows it as calcarious, later calcareous.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or relating to lime.^[4][1]
2. Designed for burning lime: fornax calcaria, a limekiln.^[2][4]

Noun

1. A lime burner.^[2][1]

Word family

• calcāria
• calcāriārius
• calcāriēnsis

Related words

• calx²
• English calcareous

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de