Etymologically
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cera

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkeː.ra][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈt͡ʃɛː.ra][1]

Forms

cēra f (genitive cērae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is probably a loanword, either borrowed from Ancient Greek κηρός (kērós, “wax”) or from an unknown language.[2][3][1] De Vaan notes that if the Doric form with ⟨ā⟩ is genuine, Latin took the Ionic-Attic form and made it a feminine in -a.[2] Wiktionary and the TLL also mention Lithuanian korỹs (“honeycomb”), and Wiktionary Albanian qiri (“candle”), suggesting a substrate word.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[2][5] who has a man filling four wax tablets.[6] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was beeswax, and in the plural the wax cells of bees.[6] Wax was used for sealing and plugging, for seals on documents, for coloured paint, and for portrait masks of ancestors, and cēra or cērae was a writing tablet coated with wax, or one page of it.[6][7]

In medieval Latin it meant a candle, especially the Easter candle.[8] The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance */ˈker-a/, with the senses “beeswax”, “candle” and “earwax”, continued in every branch of Romance.[9] English cere “wax” came from French cire.[10] Its derivative cēreus meant a wax candle.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus fills four wax tablets.[6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the last page of a ledger.[6][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius compares something to wax melting on fire.[6][5]
  • late 15th century – English cere is recorded.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. beeswax, wax.[6]
  2. (plural) The wax cells of a honeycomb.[6]
  3. A wax seal; wax for plugging.[6][7]
  4. A wax-coated writing tablet; a page of one.[6]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A candle, especially the Easter candle.[8]

Word family

  • cērārius
  • cēreus
  • cērificō
  • cērinus
  • cērō
  • cērōsus
  • cērula
  • English cere

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com