cisorium

Forms

cīsōrium n (genitive cīsōriī or cīsōrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is derived from caedō (“to cut”),^[2][3][4] ultimately from its participial stem ⟨cīs-⟩ as seen in compounds such as incīdō².^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Vegetius' treatise on veterinary medicine, of a cutting instrument used on bone,^[2][3][4] although some editors read ⟨excisorium⟩ there.^[1] A plural ⟨cisoria⟩ may also occur in Isidore of Seville, but only if the manuscripts' ⟨tisoria⟩ is emended.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed rare.^[2][3] In medieval French documents it named the iron cleaver with which butchers cut up meat: a letter of remission of 1353 tells of a man attacked with such cleavers taken from a butcher's stall.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 400 AD – Vegetius uses it of a surgical cutting tool.^[2][3][4]
• 1353 – A French letter of remission uses it for butchers' cleavers.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A cutting instrument.^[2][3][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A butcher's cleaver.^[5]

Word family

• circumcisorium

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre