cella

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkɛl.la]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈt͡ʃɛl.la]^[1]

Forms

cella f (genitive cellae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Proto-Italic *kē̆li/elā-, from a root meaning “to hide, cover”, Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-.^[2][1] De Vaan suggests it may come from *kēla by the littera rule, which replaced a long vowel and single consonant with a short vowel and a double one, and would then keep the base of cēlāre “to conceal”; or it could be a diminutive *kēl-elā-.^[2][1] Varro already derived it from that verb, because things are hidden in it.^[3][4]

It may be related to Oscan kellaked (“he has stored”),^[2] and is compared with Sanskrit शाला (śā́lā, “hall, house”) and Ancient Greek καλιά (kaliá, “hut”).^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius onwards.^[2][6] In Plautus a parasite “has broken open all the storerooms inside”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a storeroom for one kind of provision, as cella vinaria, olearia or penaria, for wine, oil or food, and Cato called Sicily “the storeroom of our state”.^[7][8] In a temple it was the chamber where the god's image stood, as Jupiter's on the Capitol.^[3] It was also a small room for slaves or the poor, a garret, a coop or pen for animals, and a chamber under the seats of a theatre.^[3][5]

In Medieval Latin it was a monk's or nun's dwelling and a small monastery, often one depending on an abbey.^[9][10] It was also used for the cells of a honeycomb and of the brain.^[11][12] English took cell in the early 12th century for a small monastery, later for a monk's room.^[13]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[2][6]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for storerooms.^[3][6]
• 234–149 BC – Cato lists storerooms for wine, oil and food.^[7][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the chamber of Jupiter's temple.^[3][6]
• 832 – A Catalan document uses it for a small monastery.^[10]
• early 12th century – English cell is first recorded, for a small monastery.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A storeroom, larder, granary.^[3][7]
2. The inner chamber of a temple.^[3][1]
3. A small room; a garret.^[3][1]
4. A coop, pen, stall.^[3]
5. A chamber, compartment.^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin) A monk's cell; a small monastery.^[9]
7. (Medieval Latin) A cell (of a honeycomb, of the brain).^[11]

Word family

• cellāris
• cellārius
• cellātiō
• cellula
• circumcellio
• cellārium

Related words

• occulō
• cēlō
• English cell
• English cellar

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
11. ^ a b 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
12. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
13. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com