Etymologically
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cauponor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kau̯ˈpoː.nɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kau̯ˈpɔː.nor][1]

Forms

caupōnor (present infinitive caupōnārī, perfect active caupōnātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin caupō (“tradesman, innkeeper”).[1][2][3][4] The OLD derives it instead from caupōna (“inn”).[5] The TLL and Lewis and Short compare Ancient Greek καπηλεύω (kapēleúō), the Greek verb of a retailer.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius uses it in the Annals, in a line Cicero quotes: nec cauponantes bellum, sed belligerantes “not trafficking in war, but waging it”.[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

It was always rare.[6] In Christian Latin it is used of trading in or adulterating the word of God: some texts of the Vulgate have cauponantes verbum Dei in 2 Corinthians 2:17, and Cassiodorus writes cauponari verbum veritatis.[2][6][3] In Hungarian medieval sources it means to sell drink.[8]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of trafficking in war.[2][9]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of trading in the word of truth.[6][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To traffic in, trade in, haggle over (something).[5][3][10]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To make merchandise of, adulterate (the word of God).[3][2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To sell drink.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  10. ^ Simpson, D. P. (1959), Cassell's New Latin Dictionary, London: Cassell