Etymologically
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cauda

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkau̯.da][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkaːu̯.da][1]

Forms

cauda f (genitive caudae); first declension[1] A popular form cōda appears in Varro and Petronius.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It may be inherited from Proto-Italic *kaud-ā- (“part, tail”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂u-d- (“cleaved, separate”), the tail being the loose part of the animal; this would make it a relative of cūdō “to beat” and caudex “tree trunk”.[2][1] The Oxford Latin Dictionary and Lewis & Short call it doubtful, and the Thesaurus unknown.[4][3][5] Georges compared Lithuanian kutas (“tuft”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Accius speaks of a feathered tail.[4][2] Köbler dates Accius 170–c. 90 BC.[7]

Semantic evolution

It was the tail of an animal, bird or fish, as of a lion and a peacock in Cicero.[4][6] Horace uses it of the penis, and Cicero notes that the ancients called the penis cauda.[4] It was also the tail end of anything, such as a root.[4] Persius uses caudam iactāre for flattering the crowd.[8]

In medieval Latin it was also the tailbone, a measure of liquid, and the tag on which a seal hung from a charter.[9][10] The form cōda gave Old French coe “tail”, from which came English coward and queue.[11]

Timeline

  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it.[4][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a lion's and a peacock's tail.[6][7]
  • mid-13th century – English coward is recorded, from Old French coart, from coe “tail”.[11]
  • late 15th century – English queue is recorded, first of a band holding a seal.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A tail.[4][3]
  2. The penis.[4]
  3. The tail end (of anything).[4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The tailbone; a measure of liquid; a seal tag.[9][10]

Word family

  • bicōdulus
  • ēcaudis

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  11. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com