carpa

Forms

carpa f (genitive carpae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is probably a borrowing from a Germanic language;^[2][1] the source may be borrowed from Gothic *𐌺𐌰𐍂𐍀𐌰 (*karpa).^[1][2] Compare Old High German karpho, the source of German Karpfen.^[1] Its further origin is unclear.^[3][1] It has been compared with Sanskrit शफर (śaphara),^[1][4] Welsh carp and Lithuanian šapalas,^[1] but Wiktionary takes the unshifted Germanic /k/ to point to a non-Indo-European word of the Alpine region and the Danube basin, passed on through Germanic;^[1] Köbler likewise thinks of a language of the Alpine area.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient record is in a letter of Cassiodorus (Variae 12.4),^[5][3] of about 485–580 AD,^[3] where it names a fish, the carp.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin the word, more often in the form carpo, carpio, named the carp in German sources,^[7] for example in Hildegard of Bingen's Physica.^[7] Du Cange quotes it from the records of the Inquisition of Toulouse.^[8] It lives on in Italian carpa,^[5][1] and English carp, from Old French carpe, is from the same source.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus names the carp in a letter.^[5][3]
• second half of the 12th century – Hildegard of Bingen writes of the carp in her Physica.^[7][3]
• late 14th century – English borrows carp from Old French.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A carp (fish).^[4][6][7][1]

Related words

• English carp

Usage notes

A separate British Medieval Latin carpa “a card, wool-comb”, recorded in 1390, is connected with carpere and is not this word.^[9]

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ 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