cella
Pronunciation
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
- A storeroom, larder, granary.[3][7]
- The inner chamber of a temple.[3][1]
- A small room; a garret.[3][1]
- A coop, pen, stall.[3]
- A chamber, compartment.[3]
- (Medieval Latin) A monk's cell; a small monastery.[9]
- (Medieval Latin) A cell (of a honeycomb, of the brain).[11]
Word family
- cellāris
- cellārius
- cellātiō
- cellula
- circumcellio
- cellārium
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
- ^ 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
- ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com