Etymologically
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cantrix

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkan.triːks][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkan.triks][1]

Forms

cantrīx f (genitive cantrīcis, masculine cantor); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin canō (“to sing”) + -trīx.[2][1][3] Lewis & Short and Georges treat it as the feminine of cantor.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it, in the Trinummus, of a female singer.[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

It was a rare word.[5] Varro uses it as an adjective of singing birds kept in an aviary,[4][5][7] an inscription of the city of Rome records it,[5] and Tertullian and other Church writers use it.[4][5]

Medieval writers used it of a woman singer, often in contrast to the male cantor: a treatise of the 9th or 10th century speaks of secular singers, men and women.[8][9] In convents it was the nun who led the choir, the precentress:[9][10] in 1284 Archbishop Peckham forbade anything new to be sung at Godstow without the advice of the master, the abbess and the cantrīx.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a female singer.[2][6]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of singing birds.[4][6]
  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it.[4][6]
  • 9th/10th century – A treatise on music speaks of secular singers, men and women.[8]
  • c. 1284 – Archbishop Peckham names the precentress of Godstow.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A female singer, songstress.[2][4][5]
  2. (as an adjective) Singing: avēs cantrīcēs, songbirds.[4][5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A precentress, the nun who leads the choir.[9][10]

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. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Lexicon musicum Latinum medii aevi (1992–), Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften; online ed. Wörterbuchnetz
  9. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  10. ^ a b c d 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