castor
Pronunciation
Forms
castor m (genitive castoris); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κάστωρ (kástōr, “beaver”).[2][3][4] Etymonline says the Greek may mean “he who excels” and be the same as the name of Castor.[5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's first source is Cicero (81–43 BC).[4] A passage of Cicero on the beaver is quoted by Isidore.[6]
Semantic evolution
It meant the beaver, for which the native Latin word was fiber.[6][7] Pliny and Juvenal use Greek accusatives castora and castoras.[7] The same word was the name of Castor, brother of Pollux, and the plural Castores meant Castor and Pollux, and St Elmo's fire.[2]
In medieval Latin a different castor, from castrāre, was a gelded ram.[4] English castor “beaver” came from it through Old French in the late 14th century.[5]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[6][4]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes of the beaver.[6][4]
- c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses the accusative castora.[7][4]
- late 14th century – English castor is borrowed.[5]
Meanings
Noun
Word family
- Castoreus
- castorinatus
- castorinus
- ēcastor
- mēcastor
Related words
- fiber
- English castor
Usage notes
Castor is also the name of the son of Leda and brother of Pollux.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn